Beyond Reason
by ThatJeevasFanChick
Summary: The chronological downfall of a brilliant mind and the friend who sought to protect him. BxL.  Fluff, Angst, Shota.  Rated M for later parts. Now with a continuation, "Beyond Understanding". -Complete!-
1. Chapter 1

1. This is a Role Play between myself and RipJawWolfFang. I am role playing as Beyond Birthday and she is role playing as L.  
>2. I have altered this story to that of a fan fiction format so it not in script style in accordance with the rules.<br>3. This story is primarily B x L, but will feature appearances from Roger, Watari as well as some OC's.  
>4. This is an Alternate Universe, set in Wammy's House era.<br>5. This is a shota, which means underage BL. Nothing explicit, but every mature part will be separate with a warning in the chapter before. If you find mature parts offensive, do not read them! Common sense.  
>6. There be chapters here now instead of parts. Edited content further for better story flow.<p>

We do not own Death Note or its characters. They belong to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.

Chapter 1

L took a deep, calming breath and cast his gaze out the window for a long moment. It was strange. His room mate had not yet returned and his studies today where on a subject that was so far beneath his level of intellect, though with Watari away he would have to settle with Roger's idea of homework.

-Elsewhere-

"G-gotcha! You are not ge-getting away from me this time!" B pounced upon the speedy little pale colored dragon by the pond, holding it softly, but firmly in his hand before trotting victoriously back to the empty jam jar he'd wisely placed holes and dirt in ahead of time before putting the wriggling lizard into the container with a self satisfied grin. He brushed off the scuff marks on his jeans and proceeded to trot to the front step, setting his prize on the top most step before going off to hunt for its food. Crickets and worms sounded like a great idea for dragon food this day.

One of the older boys came running out of the dorm after his friends when he almost tripped over the jar. It was a common sighting, A jar, once filled with sweet, sticky jam now filled with some kind of creeping, crawling creature.  
>"What do we have here?" He smirked to himself, lifting the jar up to examine the contents. It was a rather angry lizard, puffing up to make itself look larger though it was clearly just a baby. With jar in hand he made his way to the pond, opening the lid and tipping the little creature out at the base of the tree. He didn't like B much and he intended to give him the shock of his life and put a big spider in the jar instead before replacing it.<p>

With a handful of worms and a grin on his face, B returned to the jar, intending to give the little lizard a healthy meal, only to find that the lizard was no longer in there, replaced instead by a large spider. He became panicked at first, thinking the critter crawled out somehow, but he knew that he'd sealed the lid tightly. It occurred to him that someone might have taken it out on purpose.

Red eyes glared hard and he began to seek out his suspect. He only had a few in mind that would do this to him, but they had never acted on it before. He sought out the one named 'H' first, letting his fists clench tightly.  
>"H! Did you take my rare puff dragon from me?" B knew how to spot a liar and made sure to use those skills with all his suspects.<br>"I did no such thing B," the dark haired boy stated calmly, though inside he was chuckling that his plan had worked even for a moment. He intended for B to think the lizard was eaten by the spider but this was close enough.

B gazed into the older boy's eyes, seeing his true name flash above him and his death numbers made clear as day. They still did not make any sense to him, but that was the least of his concerns, H was lying. B glared harder and lunged forward, tackling the older to the ground and began to pummel any open skin made available to him.  
>"You're lying! You stole Lawli's present from me! You stole it! Where did you throw it?"<p>

H put his hands up above his head, trying to protect himself from the savage attack he had not seen coming.  
>"I... I... I j-just... freed... i-it... b-by the pond... s-stop!"<br>B had not heard where the creature was dropped off and continued to beat on the older. A was nearby and witnessed the attack as it was still happening before running inside to retrieve Roger to stop the attack from continuing further. Meanwhile, a small crowd of kids began to gather and egg on B to continue, chanting their encouragement loudly.

It didn't take long for the elderly male to see what was happening.  
>"Stop this at once, B!" Roger scolded and made an attempt to separate them, one which was quickly stopped dead when the young raven leaped out of his arms and onto the boy again like some kind of rabid animal.<br>"Stop!"  
>"B... B come on..." A whispered, creeping up and taking his arm. Whether it was her voice or the action itself the boy stopped his assault mid swing, panting heavily.<br>"I'll help you catch him again, don't worry..."

There were tears in his eyes and a frown on his face, glaring at the older who now lay crying on the ground before him. B grabbed A's arm and pulled himself into a standing position.  
>"H threw away Lawli's special dragon... There was no other one like it and I really wanted him to have it..." He sniffled and ignored the stern face of Roger.<br>"You will apologize at once for beating H, B. That behavior is unacceptable and not tolerated on these grounds." B shook his head side to side.  
>"I am not go-going to apologize to a thief! He stole Lawli's g-gift!"<br>A put one arm around Bs shoulders and pulled him close.  
>"He did say he was harassed into it!" A defended.<br>"He is clearly upset and H is just as much at fault as B is!"  
>"That doesn't excuse him fr-"<br>"No it doesn't, but your not going to treat him as the only one who did the wrong thing!" A never liked Roger much and they locked heads often though this time she was not going to lose.  
>"Come on B... we'll get him again..." with that said she lead him away before the elder could say anything more.<p>

B held onto A's arm and let himself be led away, avoiding the elder's gaze completely. He was clearly upset about the whole ordeal; that puff dragon was special, just like Lawli was. He really wanted him to have it.  
>"We'll find it again... right?"<br>A smiled at him and stopped just by the pond.  
>"Of course we will, he will be around here somewhere." Somehow the small blonde girl always knew how to make him feel better. B grinned and began to find the little pale dragon, going all fours and re-scuffing his knees, seeking out the numbers that would give the little lizard away.<p>

News of B's assault spread like wildfire, even reaching L's ears by means of loud gossiping, the story somehow evolving from a thievery to an outright rivalry that almost got H killed. The young raven wasn't sure what to make of the gossip, B after all had never really shown any signs of aggression. He also knew that chances are the story had transformed greatly since it actually occurred and it may simply be a rumor created from nothing. Either way, L saw need to investigate and climbed to his feet from his desk to slink outside and to his friends' favorite hunting grounds. To his surprise A was also there, a jar in hand ready for the tiny lizard gripped in Beyond's hands.

"You're not g-getting away this time! I'm g-going to make sure of it!" He maneuvered the little wriggling beastie into the jar which he'd tossed in 3 worms ahead of time. He closed the lid tightly enough so that escape would be impossible. He'd just finished cleaning his knees before he looked and saw his friend. He took the jar from A and hid it behind his back before walking almost shyly towards the older boy.  
>"Lawli! You weren't supposed to see! The surprise is ruined, but I want to share with you anyways." He brought the pale lizard into view, the creature had begun to eat the first worm in the jar greedily.<p>

The detective took the jar and look closely at the little creature for a few long moments before a little smile creeps across his face.  
>"It is an albino, Beyond," he informs his friend and hands it back.<br>"We will have to find a tank for him."  
>B took the jar with a grin.<br>"We should make sure it passes the Griffin test first. If she shows no interest in it, then this little one is save from certain doom. Many other spiders and dragons have failed her test. Let's hope this one can make it through safely." He carried the jar and admired the feeding style of the little lizard. So raw and natural, there was nothing like it in the world.

L nods and his expression turns serious.  
>"Maybe we can ask Watery for a proper tank... one with a latch so she can't get in?" L put his thumb to his lip in thought. A nice tank for there room would be so much better than the jar. B nods his head in agreement.<br>"Fine, but the sooner it's done, the better. We'll also need a heater lamp, and some proper terrain for it." He tilts his head thoughtfully for a short while then forgot the stray thought that entered his mind. He shook his head clear before walking back inside, leaving A behind.

The onyx eyed youth thought hard on whether or not to ask about the rumor he overheard before deciding that it would be best to let this one slide. He knew he would find out the truth of the matter sooner or later and there was perhaps a 73% chance that it would end better if he simply let it play out on its own until his friend decided to tell him.

B trotted back to their shared room, his side laden with many empty jars with spiders and other bugs. He decided that he would need to stockpile as many fresh ones before he would get Watari to order some from the pet store. He hated the store bought pet food with a passion. He sets Lawli's lizard by his bed before spotting his work. He climbs onto the chair in a way that almost mimicked the dark-eyed youth's own and flipped through the work, scrutinizing his friend's in silence.

"Is there something wrong with it?" He asked quietly, wondering what his friend thought of the many hours he had put into the one simple project in order to make it more interesting to himself. Red eyes peered into black and he raised an eyebrow before turning his attention back to the work in front of him.  
>"The work is good, but Roger seems to think that we're elementary dear Watson. Our high level intellect makes such lower class studies seem like... bloody child's play." He brings a pencil to his mouth and pretends to puff away on it like a pipe, exaggerated lip movements included.<br>"Methinks you may have also broken this down so far just to be entertained. Dear Watson, I do believe that you are in fact bored out of your mind."  
>"Very much so," the soon-to-be detective sighed and rubbed his forehead.<br>"Do you think Watari will be back from America soon?"  
>"I certainly hope so. He is always looking for more children like us to adopt. Hard to say when he may come around again. Then again, Watari does not always go seek out new siblings. Whose to say what he's doing over there? I would not mind going there when we graduate, just for something to do... Umm... my mind wandered there..." He brings a hand to rub his neck nervously.<p>

"I would go with you... though I don't honestly say I have much interest in travel..." In truth L wasn't really sure we had much interest in anything other then finding new challenges.  
>"Though I suspect Watari is actually hunting for money this time..."<br>"Perhaps, but the sooner he g-gets back, the sooner we will be rid of these annoying booklets my dear Watson." Just then, Griffin walked inside and trotted to L's leg to rub against it in greeting before repeating the process with B's leg.

"Running an orphanage is not an easy thing, especially with the amount of kids that are here." He picks up the scruffy cat and pets her slowly.  
>"Yes..." the elder sighed and moved to sit on his bed next to his friend and their scruffy cat. He slowly reached over and stroked her carefully, trailing his hand up to its little ears and scratching behind them. The scarlet-eyed youth let this happen before removing himself from the chair to lay on his back with the cat on his stomach, hearing her purr loudly and kneading his chest.<p>

"Lawli... Why do you suppose I have special eyes? Do you think that I am supposed to be like some sort of prophet or something?" The red eyed youth had asked this same question in many varying forms, though this one was the same one from an older time.  
>"I told you already Beyond," his friend responded, "I think your eyes are special because one day you're meant to do something great..." It was the same response he gave every other time though he never got tired of his friends questions. He was the only one that knew how much having those eyes bothered him and one of only three people who knew what they could do, and A didn't believe him, or in anything else supernatural anymore.<p>

The younger raven huffed out a sigh, seeing the young cat's numbers shrinking gradually.  
>"I hardly think that being able to see when someone might die counts as doing something g-great..." He lifts the furry cat from himself and sets her aside before getting up and going to a jar with mice he'd caught previously and pulled one out for their cat, snapping the neck humanely before tossing it to her.<br>"Why do you do that?" L asks after a long moment, realizing the violence the action he had previously considered to be harmless carried. It seemed that his friend enjoyed watching animals feed on each other though he never let something suffer, if it was he would simply walk up to it, being mice, bird or even wounded dragon and end its life without seemingly a second thought. The red eyed youth looks to his older counterpart and raises an eyebrow.

"Because, Lawli, mice are far healthier pound for pound as cat food than the store food garbage that industry generates today." He looks to his friend before looking to their cat eating the mouse with rapt attention.  
>"I don't want to make the poor things suffer being torn alive, that is just cruel Lawli."<br>"Yes you have said before, I was referring to the way you simply... end things..." L thought back for a long moment and he could remember clearly at least six other times he had done something just like that to a wild animal. Oddly none of those memories involved A and put in a similar situation around her he would not react the same.

B looked up, a hint of suspicion in his gaze.  
>"You've never been bothered by me ending the suffering of animals before. Why are you so interested in it now?" He does not remove his look until he gets an answer, listening to their cat chew the mouse apart.<br>"It is more a curiosity," the someday great detective explains.  
>"I have never seen you flinch at doing it before yet you would not do it in front of A..."<br>"It's a humane way Lawli and you know more than me that A is sensitive to seeing things dying, especially the 'cute' things. I used to do this before I came here. I am used to it. It is normal to me. I am making a difference and keeping predators that would like to eat them happy. Win-win scenario." He at last looks back down, keeping his red orbs fixated on their cat's feeding habits. He leaned more down and stuck his index finger into his mouth and let his head tilt slightly as he watched.

"I see..." L slowly processed the information, letting it run through his mind before being put into storage. It was Roger who came to interrupt there thoughts, still angry about the happenings outside. Roger didn't have the same love for the red eyed male that Watari did. In fact, he and the boy never got along right from the start so as soon as he entered the room the elder raven got in between him and his friend protectively.  
>"B, I cannot believe you did that to H. Do you realize that course of action is grounds for expulsion? Unless you apologize to him right away, I'm afraid you leave me no choice in the matter." B's eyes widened and he went farther behind his friend.<br>"H started it! He hates me! Lawli is the only one who cares! Lawli and A!" He clung to an arm and didn't let go.  
>"You are wrong in this matter Roger," the elder stated calmly as always.<br>"Beyond and I are not simply students, we have been personally adopted by Watari and we do not answer to you. Even if we where simply students the rules state you are required to give three warnings, this would be his first, so do not threaten him with consequences that you are not able to follow through with."

"Watari left me in charge while he is away L. There is protocol that must be followed in the event that there is violent behavior. I will not ask you again to apologize to H." B glared at the older male.  
>"Then don't because it's not happening. H was in the wrong the whole time. I don't care what you try to say otherwise." Roger seemed shocked and appalled that the youth was acting in a defiant manner.<br>"I will bring it up with Watari when he returns in a few days. This will not be a silent matter B, and I will make sure that it is properly dealt with." With that, the older male left the room at an annoyed pace.

The stone eyed male waited until the elders footsteps could no longer be heard before leaving the defensive position he had taken up between the pair, turning to face the red eyed male instead.  
>"I defended you, however I am not sure what from, and you are going to tell me." L knew he couldn't protect his friend without knowing the details of what happened in full, otherwise he would be simply repeating the rules which where in fact against B no matter what he said.<p>

B's gaze went downcast for a moment before returning his red eyes to the black.  
>"H tried to throw away your puff dragon earlier and I got upset... I might have went a little overboard, but H never liked me and his punishment fit the crime. I felt that it was fair with what I did to him." His gaze went back down and he muttered, "I beat him up..."<p>

The future detective moved a thumb to his lip thoughtfully. This brought two things to light for him; the first being how he was able to defend his young friend, but the second being the issue of his friends' aggression that had seemingly came out of nowhere. B looked like a puppy that knew it did something wrong and moved in to cuddle the detective from behind, keeping his head low.  
>"I'm sorry Lawli... I didn't mean to hurt H badly, honest I didn't. I just didn't want him to take away your dragon like that. It was really special, and I really wanted you to have it." He pulls the older closer to him and nuzzles his back with his nose.<p>

The older male sighed and moved to hug his friend back tightly.  
>"Its alright Beyond." He assured the wild eyed male.<br>"But you must behave from now on. We cannot afford to let you get in trouble again this year."  
>"I-I'll do my best... I just don't want H to steal from me like that again..." He buried his face into the detective's chest more and sniffled. Inwardly, he liked that sort of power over H. To have that sort of revenge on him, it was... empowering.<p>

"I am sure he won't..." L still couldn't understand it. His friend had never shown any signs of being capable of something like this. Even when they sparred, B pulled his punches and was very careful not to hurt him in any way... this kind of aggression was new to him. A few moments passed before B parted from the embrace to clean up the mess Griffin left behind. He put the waste into the garbage and looked to his friend, frown on his face.

"I never meant it, you know that right? A saw everything though, and I feel even worse because of that." He went to his desk and sat in the seat and took his pencil and chewed on the eraser end nervously. The eraser had long been removed and bite marks accumulated across the wooden surface.  
>"I know..." L said in reply after a moment of thought. That's why A was at the pond with him for then. The raven knew that his friend had a special place in his heart for his sister and that he would normally never do something like that in front of her.<br>"Don't worry, I will sort this out with Watari when he returns..."


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 2

B had tried to do some of the easy work in front of him, but was too upset over letting A witness the beating that he could not bring himself to try. He slid out of his chair and trotted out of the room and sought out the last of their trio. L thought for a moment before deciding that it would be best if he followed the smaller raven. He would normally stay put unless asked to follow, but his friend was clearly upset and he wasn't going to leave him alone.  
>"Where are we going?"<br>"I need to see A and apologize... I think she's really upset with me too.." He sniffled again and picked up the pace, his slightly longer legs helping him to gain some distance between the older raven. He did not even flinch at the random screams of the girls in the female wing and ignored them to seek out their sister's room before knocking on it.

There was a muffled 'hang on,' and what sounded like papers shifting around before the door was finally open, revealing the blue eyed blonde girl standing in her rather messy room. Both her and her room mate shared the same opinions on cleaning and that was if it barely passes inspection, then it still passes. Studies where more important to her anyway.  
>"Oh B... You feeling better now?"<br>The younger raven hung his head and frowned.  
>"I'm so sorry that you had to see that A... I didn't mean for H to get hurt that bad... Did they say when he's going to be let out of the hospital?" He took a step back and held onto the dark eyed youth and kept his gaze low.<p>

A sighed and mimicked her elder 'brothers' actions by biting at her thumb as she thought.  
>"I heard them say he has a broken nose and that he will be in over night but its not too serious..." she mumbled after a moment before moving to ruffle the young ravens hair.<br>"Don't worry about it though, I know you where just upset."  
>"Roger came into our room and tried to get me to apologize to H again. I don't plan on apologizing. H started it and I finished it. It ended with him bleeding and bruised, but he deserved it..." He held onto the older's arm tighter.<br>"I don't like hurting others on purpose... but H hates me, just like Roger and everyone else... I feel like a freak in here..."

"You're not a freak B," A whispers and pulls him into a comforting hug, "just different. And we love you just how you are, right L?" The elder nodded in agreement and put his arms around both of them.  
>"You're just saying that... You've seen everyone else... They call me down and they avoid me. You and Lawli are the only ones besides Watari who actually care about me... I don't feel accepted here..." This was not the first time B had these mini break-downs. They were in fact one of several during the time he'd been here. It was his connection to the future detective that kept him there for so long.<p>

"They don't like me either..." the onyx eyed male mumbles, "people don't like things they don't understand... It is in their nature..."  
>"But at least you and A can interact with others without fearing that you're going to get called 'the freak with red eyes' or 'the devil incarnate'." He shrunk into the embrace, feeling like he wanted to disappear from view.<br>"Don't worry about them..." L soothed, "you have us and that's more then some people here..." It would be a long time before Beyond gained the respect the pair thought was worthy of him but for now he would only have the raven's.

B let his head look up after some time before letting his tear stained red eyes look at the older raven then to the blonde. He smiled a little before settling himself into the dark eyed youth's embrace.  
>"I know that Lawli, you two are the g-greatest." He felt warm and safe in the older raven's arms and that was where he was most content being.<p>

"Alright, I'm going to finish this homework..." A smiled and pulled away to sit back at the desk, "It's so boring!"  
>"My dearest Watson thought so too," quipped B.<br>"I already knew that we were going to be hit with something akin to it the moment Roger handed those booklets to us." He looked to L and made a nervous face.  
>"We better get back Watson before something dirtier than crime comes afoot."<p>

The grey eyed male moved took his friends hand and gave it a careful squeeze.  
>"Good luck A."<br>"Yeah... Like I'll need it!" She rolled her eyes and gave a loud huff as B was led away. B trotted beside the older raven and kept his gaze diverted from the other students. In his mind, the insults were already being projected at him even if the lips belonging to the insults didn't move at all. He took deep breaths and calmed himself down until they were back in their room.

"Don't worry..." the future detective patted his friends head before moving to sit down on the bed. B sat beside the dark eyed raven and went into a similar crouch that he usually did. His breathing problem decided then and there to act up on him, making him wheeze a little. He closed his eyes and evened out his breathing.  
>"I can't... help but worry... It's not... fair..."<br>Seeing the slight struggle with his friends lungs begin anew, he quickly moved to get the other raven's medication.  
>"Lay down Beyond..." he whispered calmly and pushed him back down in the bed, not caring that it was the wrong one.<p>

The younger complied and rested on his back, keeping his eyes closed. The light wheezes continued as he breathed.  
>"Here." L held the boy's puffer in front of his mouth and waited for him to take it before pressing down the button himself. The little device made a soft hiss sound as the wild eyed boy breathed it in.<p>

Nobody was sure what was wrong with Beyond's lungs that made them so fragile and weak, but he was always very ill and a simple chest infection would completely knock him flat. Watari had taken him to all the best doctors and specialists, but they only drew blanks, presumably it was some abuse he suffered in the past that damaged them though they could neither prove nor disprove that.

B coughed a little bit and took one more shot of the medicine before the wheezing stopped altogether.  
>"Thanks Lawli," he managed, slightly breathless. He sat up slowly and took a couple deep breaths before determining that he was ok again. He stood and went to his desk before sitting down again.<br>"We should finish these quickly before Watari comes back with something that is actually worth working for."  
>"I will finish them," mumbled the older boy. He gives his friend a small smile and puts the medicine away again.<br>"You should rest, I don't want you to get sick again..."  
>"I'm fine," he insisted, taking deep breaths to prove as much.<br>"They don't happen very often, so it's ok." He picked up his chewed up pencil before continuing his work in silence.

The future detective nods and sits down in the chair next to his friend, starting his own work but at the same time keeping a close eye on the other. The red eyed youth worked at a relatively slow pace, not really putting too much effort into the studies Roger gave them. He could recite the entire Table of Elements in his sleep if he wanted to, alphabetically and backwards if need be. He paused halfway to see that he was being watched and rolled his eyes.  
>"I said I'm fine, honest." He goes back to work, more self conscious now with knowing his friend was keeping tabs on him.<br>"You said that last time and you collapsed..." he states bluntly as ever.  
>"I wasn't expecting to inhale that airborne dust at the wrong time either," he replies.<br>"Bollocks! I made a smudge on the paper."

"Then I shall watch you and make sure it does not happen again." The last time it happened it scared the young raven nearly to death to have his friend seemingly alright one moment and barely alive the next. B huffed out a defeated sigh, knowing that L was rather adamant and even stubborn when it came to certain things about him.  
>"Fine, but... never mind..." He returned to his studies until they were completed. L had finished completely by this time, having been nearly done when they started. This gave him even more time to watch his friend doing the simple and automatic act of breathing.<p>

As B worked, his mind wandered back to the incident with H. He'd never acted out like that before, not even before he came into the orphanage. Maybe it was something he repressed and was unaware of it? He could not be so certain, but what was certain was that it felt... almost good. Scary, but good. L's mind had also wandered onto the subject of Beyond's sudden aggressive assault. He even gone so far as to break the other boys nose. He wondered if it was simply B unleashing the pent up anger he had been bottling since he could remember or if it was perhaps something darker in the boy's soul.  
>"And that is the end of that chapter of my life," B suddenly declared, closing the booklet and setting it into his desk. His stomach growled loudly then.<br>"I need a jam break, care to join me? We can raid the strawberries and have them with the jam."  
>L nodded and a smile crept onto his face at the thought of the small fruit dancing about on his taste buds.<p>

The younger raven led the way, walking out and trotting down the hallways to the familiar kitchen. It was always fully stocked, reducing the chances of anything missing going noticed. He checked the space to be sure it was clear before sneaking inside and going to the pantry and digging around, finding his beloved strawberry jam near the top.  
>"They are getting craftier Watson, they only challenge me to work harder and so I shall!"<br>"They are, and sooner or later they are going to catch us..." Everyone got caught once in a while stealing food and the punishment was only a 10 minute detention, so it wasn't much of a risk.

B scoffs and rolls his eyes.  
>"You tell me the last time we ever got caught taking the jam and strawberries Lawli... Never happened yet, but I am not going to rule out that it very well could happen." He reaches up on his toes and manages to get a fingertip to grip the jar. He eases it until it falls into waiting hands and sets it down.<br>"Next are the strawberries!"

The elder keeps a look out at the door, making sure no teachers walk in and catch them breaking the rules.  
>"But A has been caught... Twice..." This was probably because she decided to steal an entire jar of cookies all at once... and having the jar in her room was a give away.<br>"A is reckless and tends to act before she thinks. I am not surprised at all that she was caught more than once." He goes to the cooler pantry and opens it before disappearing inside. Sounds of shuffling were heard inside before a basket of the red fruits was procured.  
>"Is the coast clear?" He takes his jam jar and shuffles behind the older raven.<br>"Wait," L whispers and waits for a teacher to round the corner with her books.  
>"Alright, now..."<p>

B wastes no time and trots back to their room with the strawberry sweets in tow. He lets the onyx eyed boy lead the way back, making sure to shut the door behind them as soon as they entered.  
>"That was too easy as always. They could not stop us then, they can't stop us now. Ain't that right sleepyhead?" He sets the jam on his bed and goes to pet Griffin who had fallen asleep.<br>"One day they will install cameras on us..." he mused and headed straight for the strawberries, popping one in his mouth and sucking on it slowly.

B stopped petting Griffin to finally get to his beloved jam. He opened the jar and stuck in 2 fingers to remove the sticky confection and suck it off his fingers. When they were clean, he paused.  
>"Until then, we rule the kitchen raids; they don't stand a chance against us." He grins before helping himself to more of the sweet treat with a smile on his face.<br>"We will need to add a skilled hacker to our hunting party..." That was the perfect solution to the camera problem as far as L could see and as long as they weren't as good at getting caught as it would be no problem to steal extra food for a third person.  
>"Who do we know is a skilled hacker and are we willing to trust him or her enough that we can say we will not be ratted out anytime soon?" He sucks more jam from his fingers and looks thoughtful.<br>"Not too many, if any at all."  
>"One will come... there's always more..." There was no shortage of orphans after all...<p>

B tilts his head before plunging his fingers into the sticky jam and sucking it off.  
>"Veewy twoo.." he mumbled around his fingers. The younger cleaned his fingers off at last.<br>"But right now, there is no such person, so we just have our instincts to guide us."  
>L takes a deep breath and slowly sucks on yet another little strawberry. There was no hiding the fact he was a little depressed, this whole situation with Watari being gone and B beating up another student... not to mention his friend seemed a little off his game from being sick even if he hid it well.<p>

B sensed the change and took his jam and went to sit next to the future detective.  
>"What's wrong Lawli? You're not looking the same right now." He offered his jam to the older in hopes it might help. The older raven shook his head slowly but offered a small smile to the other.<br>"I'm just exhausted..." It was true, not physically exhausted but mentally; he just couldn't deal with any more of this stress right now.  
>"You let things get to you too quickly. I know that there is someone inside you that wants to relax and take it easy. You need to let that person out now and then, you know?" He pulled his friend into a hug and smiled.<br>"We're still kids Lawli, we should try to act it once in a while."

"You say that, but do you really believe it?" The stone eyed male whispered, "I don't think I have truly been a child since mother died... Its simply not in me anymore..."  
>"F, T, R and the rest of them are just like us, but you'd never be able to tell with the way they act. Even A... especially A. She's the spark to our trio that gives us life. I will find that person in you Lawli and I will lure that person out of you. You'll see."<br>"If he still lives..." the detective states rather bluntly, "I am sure he died with my parents..." It was true about A though, you would never know that she has such a tragic past just by looking at her. In fact of the children here, she probably has some of the worst memories and yet has healed the best.  
>"I wonder if A is really as happy as she appears... Or if she is simply hiding the pain..."<p>

B frowned, seeing that his friend's rather stubborn behavior was not going to go away anytime soon.  
>"If I find that part of you and lure it out, then... I would like you to play a game of Precognitive Chess with me. Normal chess is too boring now. If you can out think me based on the movements of only 5 chess pieces and determine if you or I have the advantage, then I will get you something extra special. I will sneak out and go into the towns early in the morning if I have to."<p>

There was another small smile and the elder hugged his friend back finally.  
>"Alright... we will see..." Though thinking about it made him all the more sure that much of A's happiness was just a ruse. B grinned and hugged him tighter and held the older raven in the embrace for a good while before parting from it to return to eating his jam. This time he tilted the contents into his mouth and puffed out his cheeks and made a serious face, looking at nothing in front of him.<p>

Most people would be surprised or disgusted by Beyond's behavior, however this to L was as normal as the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening so much so that his day would be put out of sequence if his friend ever started eating jam on toast like everyone else in the orphanage. He sucked on the last strawberry lightly before nibbling it away until it was gone, leaving him with nothing further to do for the day. It was getting late anyway and Roger would soon be around to do his room checks before curfew.  
>"You should hurry and clean that before Roger comes..." If it was clean then he would simply assume Rue got it from the recycle for his bug collection. While they didn't encourage such collections, Watari considered it important for them to have some kind of hobby and did not allow anyone to interfere with that.<p>

The red eyed youth nodded and swallowed the jam in his mouth before draining the remaining contents into his waiting mouth, then going into the adjacent bathroom to clean the jar and remove the paper wrapping and discarding it in his waste bin with the other jam jar wrappers he'd tossed in there, careful to put it on the bottom. He set the new jar with his empty collection and went to his bed and sat cross legged.  
>"Roger doesn't care about us the same as Watari does, everyone knows that."<p>

"That may be true, but we have no choice but to listen and obey his rules while Watari is away..." The two of them had been special to the elderly man. Lawliet was the son of his best friend and her husband before they died, and adopting him personally was a favor to them, to have him raised how they would have wanted. Beyond on the other hand was found near dead by a young L and adopting him was almost a way of fulfilling his promise to the raven's mother and giving him a family.

The younger only rolled his eyes, but got changed anyways, pulling out his night wear from under his pillow and stripping to his underwear before re-dressing in the lighter material. He tossed his clothes into the hamper and had his legs under the covers just as Roger had knocked on their door. B looked at him and glared, but otherwise made no attempt to communicate with the caretaker. L had not yet changed when Roger walked in, earning him a brief scolding but beyond that there room passed the inspection as it always did and soon he was out of there hair once again.

"I wonder if A will pass again..." the older boy mused as he got changed into a grey pair of boxer shorts. Their adopted sister seemed to know exactly where the line was and how to just barely be on the right side of it... It was a talent of hers that L wasn't sure anyone else knew how to pull off.  
>"Knowing her and Q, I don't doubt that they will once again stay within normal room cleanliness boundaries." He waited until the older raven was settled in his bed before turning off the lamp next to his bed. He was on his side before rolling over, keeping his back faced away.<br>"Night Lawli..." he mumbled, evening out his breathing.  
>"Good night Beyond..." The detective mumbled back and lay there with his eyes open as he usually did, sleeping was never something that came easily to him and the nightmares had only gotten worse and worse the older he got.<p>

B's nightmares were no where near the ones he was sure that 'L' suffered. They always consisted of numbers rapidly counting down and seeing everything around him dying at an unnaturally fast pace. As a result of this, the red eyed boy would toss and turn in his sleep, whimpering and even crying out loud if they were bad enough. Not all dreams were in a time lapse, though those were bad enough. The others were of his mother and this shadow he only knew as the 'Grey Man' who always was on top of him, doing unspeakable things to his young body.

L saw his friend thrashing about rather badly tonight and decided he would crawl out of his bed and into Beyond's. It would only be a matter of time before his friend would wake himself and want a cuddle for the rest of the night anyway and it was just easier if he caught them early. He curled up against the younger boy and stroked his hair, whispering soothing words to comfort him.

The young scarlet eyed boy immediately clung to his friend, leaning in and shivering the whole time, but not waking from his sleep. Whimpers were heard and some tears escaped, but he did not once let go. This nightmare was another time lapse, this time of seeing Lawli rapidly aging and suddenly collapsing in front of him for no reason. Whenever it was L, it was always the same. He had no explanation for it and that made it worse for him.  
>"Shh... I'm here to protect you... don't cry Beyond..." The older tried to sooth his whimpering friend, but whenever the nightmares were about him it was no use trying to console him.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 3

B's emotional suffering continued well into the early morning hours until he'd finally woken himself up, not stopping himself from crying into his friend's chest.  
>"L-Lawli! D-don't leave m-me a-alone... P-please..." His sobbing ceased to stop, that particular nightmare always got to him and he dreaded each night, hoping that the next one would not be of his friend.<br>"It's alright... I will never leave you..." The elder promised honestly. L wanted nothing more than to stay at his friend's side and he would do his best to stay with his friend.  
>"I-it w-was the s-same as b-before... Y-you're t-too young... y-you j-just fa-fall..." He held on and shivered, wetting his friend's chest with his tears.<p>

The future detective strokes his hair lovingly and protectively.  
>"You already know I won't die..." he soothes and rests his chin on the boys head.<br>"Besides, healthy young people don't simply die for no reason..."  
>"B-but w-what about W-Watari's st-story a-about Sh-Shi... I forget what they're called..." He slowly calms down and leans into the dark eyed boy's touch.<br>"W-what if y-you g-get a s-stroke?"

"Death gods aren't real... he just told us that story to scare us..." The elder assures his young friend.  
>"And if I had a stroke I wouldn't be healthy would I? I suppose it is possible that I die of heart failure or a stroke... even a brain aneurism which seems far more likely... But I am not going anywhere for a while, you know that..." Beyond refused to tell the detective when he would die, he thought telling people usually made them worry and waste there life thinking about it so it was purely L's assumption that Beyond could see he wouldn't die on him any time soon.<p>

"D-dreams of l-losing you is f-far w-worse th-than the d-dreams of m-my mom..." He looked to see the early hints of the sunrise and squirmed from his Lawli's arms to climb out of the bed to gaze upon it. For some reason, B's eyes were immune to the effects of sunlight. He could look at the bright star without so much as blinking, though he still squinted. Of course, like everything else, it was always red.  
>"W-Watari is coming h-home in a couple d-days, right?"<br>"I'm not sure..." he admitted and crawled over to the window to watch the sunrise with his friend, though it was far more painful for him when the light directly hit his eyes. Still, it was beautiful.

B enjoyed the sunrise for some time, letting the rays warm him up before deciding breakfast was in order for their cat. He walked to the mouse jar and removed the last one, this time playing with it a little.  
>"Sorry little mouse, but a cat's gotta eat too, ya know?" He walked to the now awake feline and got her attention before repeating the familiar action of breaking the critter's neck and letting the cat at it again.<p>

"That one was cute..." the elder protested quietly. It looked like a hybrid of an escaped tame mouse and a wild field mouse; A and himself had been admiring it in B's jar for some time.  
>"If you want a cute mouse, then you'll have to hunt for your own. These are wild mice and they are better as food than anything else. I have no more use for them. They keep Griffin happy and healthy." He watched their cat feed on it as he usually did, always with his index finger in his mouth and head tilted just so.<br>"A would disagree." The elder shrugged and pulled himself to his feet, starting his morning ritual of getting changed and climbing into the shower in their shared bathroom.  
>"Of course she would," he murmured in response, not shifting his gaze. "A is a g-girl and they like all things... cute and cuddly." He shuddered in disgust.<p>

The onyx eyed raven was half way through his shower when their adopted sister barged into the room with a huge smile on her face.  
>"Hey B!" she whispered though her a whisper was quite loud enough.<br>"You won't believe what I found! Where's L? I have to show you bo-" A turned around to see L through the bathroom door he hadn't bothered closing considering it was only Beyond and himself.  
>"God! Put some clothes on! Eww!"<br>"It's not like you have never seen someone naked before in your studies of the human body A..." L responded, his stunted sense of modesty made it hard for him to see a reason for A's reaction.

B didn't so much as flinch at seeing his friend in the nude. They had after all shared their space for so long and it was entirely normal for him.  
>"What's this you go-gotten so excited for A?" He was surprised she didn't see Griffin yet and was glad of it. She was always poking her. A shook off the sight of her naked brother and turned away.<p>

"I found the most awesome thing in the woods out the back behind that hole under the fence!" They had been slipping outside the boundaries of the house for a long time despite it being in violation of the rules. As long as they weren't caught outside the fence, they were fine as far as the two youngest where concerned.

B was just about to respond when A caught sight of Griffin on her back, tossing a tiny mouse up in the air and catching it again.  
>"Oh my god your stupid cat has a mouse!" The girl whined and quickly took the half chewed and clearly dead animal from her, having the creature lunge forward and bite her arm.<br>"Ow, stupid cat!"  
>"You took Griffin's mouse from her. She was playing with it... it's what cats do with their food..." He made kissing sounds to call Griffin back and smiled when his sounds were answered.<br>"I killed the mouse ahead of time A. I'm not going to let it suffer a gruesome death. This is off topic though. What of this place you found?" Griffin climbed his leg and onto his shoulder, purring louder when he showered her with affection.

The girl looked down at the damp-with-saliva mouse sadly before giving it back to Beyond reluctantly. Her and their cat never really got along, it seemed to despise her for some unknown reason.  
>"Well... err... It's hard to explain, but there's room for the three of us! I'm pretty sure some animal dug it out, but has moved out for some reason..."<br>B got Griffin's attention again and set the dead mouse on the floor and let her play with her 'catch' again.  
>"Well it's still early and the morning check-in hasn't started yet. I say after breakfast we go and check it out. But how can you be so sure the animal that made it will not be coming back anytime soon?"<br>"Well it's been abandoned for some time... there's a... err..." A shivered.  
>"There's a spider in there... with a big... web... and legs... and fur... it's... err..."<p>

"A, spiders will only bite in self defense. They fear you more than you fear them. I'll bring a jar and add it to my collection... oh! Lawli's dragon!" He shifted his attention to the little lizard who puffed up at him and made a light hissing sound. He went to his cricket jar and removed 4 of them and set them inside, giving the animal something to feed on later.  
>"We'll talk about it after breakfast, so we'll see you there." He stripped himself of his clothes, heedless of A still being there and walked into the bathroom, closing the door halfway.<p>

"Ugh, God, you are both disgusting!" A scolded and stormed out, not willing to see them naked for one moment longer.  
>"Not our fault that you were born with the wrong anatomy A!" he called out loudly just as she was heard storming off. He shrugged his shoulders and proceeded to clean himself for the day. The pair had been together for so long now that this was completely normal, and soon both where clean and dressed, ready for breakfast.<p>

B led the way this time, usually that was something Lawli had done, but B was in a good mood, excited about the prospects of a new hangout, since their last one was discovered last year. Not to mention, it would also bring about new catches for his jar collection. He would need to pack the most obvious ones for holes: Worm Jar, Spider Jar and Larvae Jar. The dining hall was within sight and he wandered in, his self-consciousness kicking in, making him hunch over a little.

The future detective moved through the hall to there usual seats headless of the other students who through a few names in his direction though this went unnoticed and would one day be replaced by admiration.  
>"I hope it's pancakes..." he mused as he finally sat in his seat in his usual crouched over position to await the food. The red eyed youth took his spot next to the older and crossed one leg on the seat and rested his other leg on it.<br>"I don't care, as long as there is jam involved, I could care less." He kept his gaze diverted from everyone else around him.

The teachers had already started making rounds with the food before A decided to show herself again. L took special note of the fact that one of his white T shirts had somehow migrated to his sister's wardrobe.  
>"Why are you wearing my clothes?"<br>A brushed off the observation and sat herself down before responding.  
>"These are your old clothes and it is perfectly normal to re-use what you don't use." She quirked an eyebrow at him and looked to the equally wild haired boy.<br>"I know I've said this before, but you could seriously pass for twins or something. It's almost scary."  
>"It is probably because we spend so much time together." The oldest of the three mused.<br>"Watari says that you quite often start looking like the people you live with... it is true for you as well... since spending more time with me and Beyond you have started chewing your finger when you think... you also apparently wear my clothes despite them being clearly to big for you..."  
>A scoffed and made a mock insulted turn of the head.<br>"They're comfortable, and they'll keep me safe from those... ugh... sp-spiders..." She shuddered and unconsciously ran a hand through her hair. B grinned deviously but reserved his plan for later, filing it away in his mind.

A plate was set down in front of him, piled with waffles and topped with jam and other fruit. B frowned and picked off the other fruit minus the strawberries and then began to pick away at the food slowly.  
>"You should be happy, you got your jam..." the detective mumbled and started to eat his own plateful delicately with a little fork. The red eyed male picked up his plate and determined how much of the waffles he would eat in comparison to the jam on the food item. He took a knife and began to cut off piece after piece of the waffle until only a small amount remained. This he popped into his mouth and declared himself full.<p>

L took a lot longer to eat his food then his friends, taking his time and enjoying the sweet taste. They would be allowed to leave soon; with Watari gone their first three classes were no longer taking place, so they would have three hours to do what they pleased. B waited patiently, though A was far less as much, drumming a random beat on the table. When the older raven was finished, B waited until he moved before trailing along behind obediently.

The future detective followed closely behind the slightly hyperactive blonde, barely managing to keep pace with her and her excitement.  
>"Wait up!" said B suddenly, "I need to get my jars! There could be valuable food for the rodents and dragons over there." B detoured himself to the shared room, trotting quickly. A huffed loudly at once again being held up. She leaned against the wall and tapped her foot impatiently, an action which was ignored by her adopted brother who just stood patiently, scratching his leg with his bare foot.<p>

The wild haired youth made it to the shared room and grabbed the jars he labeled appropriately 'worm', 'spider', and 'larvae' and trotted back to the pair.  
>"The fresher, the better." All three jars had crawlies in them that were in various levels of health, any that die, he picks them out without so much as flinching.<br>"And if you find something better?" The dark eyed boy mused at the three jars he had chosen.  
>"Who cares! Let's go!" A spluttered impatiently, not able to believe that her friend was honestly suggesting he take longer.<p>

"Hmm, good point, but this is for food, next time, I'll just have to see what is new and available and prepare for the next trip out." He shook his finger in the air.  
>"Patience is not your best virtue A, you need to improve on it if you want to get far in this life."<br>"No one got far sitting on their ass waiting for people," she huffed and scurried off. It was hard to see how she didn't like Griffin when they where so much alike sometimes.

"You want to be a nurse, don't you A?" B didn't miss a beat.  
>"To become a nurse, a personal trait that is valued above others is patience. Work on that and you can make it there." He paced himself next to his Lawli and slowly unscrewed the spider jar lid.<br>"I don't want to be a nurse, I wanna be a doctor!" she corrected loudly and finally got outside.  
>"Same medical field A, regardless, you need to calm down and get your patience in check." He did not speak much after that, but continued to softly unscrew the spider jar lid. This would be good if he pulled it off at the right time.<p>

L looked to the side to see his friend opening a jar with a little brown spider in it and raised a non existent eyebrow. What was he doing? The younger raven looked to the older and made the 'hush' sign before reaching in slowly and pulling out the crawlie, waiting until A was on the ground before making his move. The future detective did as he was told whether and kept quiet even though he was sure this would end badly.

After A was safely on the ground level, B mentally calculated the force and angle he'd use according to spider weight and wind. When all was done, he tossed it and saw it miss his mark by a small margin, landing on her shoulder. He slowly sealed the lid and said nothing more.

A could feel the crawling. The slow creeping of her self declared mortal enemy climbing up her neck. Her eyes went wide and she yelped loudly, panicking and swiping at the spider. B held his composure, keeping a straight expression.  
>"I probably should have warned you about that spider that was crawling down from the doorway, but I was sure you would have missed it." He watched in amused silence at her plight. He did this once a year, helping her fear get worse each time.<p>

As soon as the spider fell off and into the grass she made a quick dash for the fence to get away from the creature.  
>"That doesn't help her get over her fear..." warned L once she was out of earshot and followed behind her. The younger only smirked lightly and let a playful look make its across his features.<br>"I know Lawli, I know..." He followed alongside the older raven and walked until they had caught up with the blonde.  
>"You're too far out of range. It's not going to get you from where you are A."<br>"You don't know that!" she huffed and tried to shake off the fear before crawling under the gap in the fence followed by the two ravens.

"I do in fact know that A, my major is in science, and that includes Biology, physics, chemistry and anatomy. You should know because you take the same classes as the rest of us." He carried his jars with him and dusted off his pants before continuing along with the other two.  
>"How much farther are we going?"<br>"It's pretty far in and tucked away nicely... We can set it up like our own private den..." Since Roger found their last hideout, A had been looking for some place to get away when the pressure got to much for her, not that she would ever admit that was the reason to her brothers.  
>"I like the sound of it A."<p>

The odd clinking of the jars were the only other sound made in their journey. A was right, the distance was farther from the grounds, but the location more than made up for it.  
>"This place... it's... it's perfect!" He trotted ahead a little, but looking back to make sure this was the proper location before continuing.<p>

L looked around the small, natural clearing. It was well hidden by bushes and shrubs all the way around and the ground was covered in soft green moss with the occasional mushroom poking up from the ground. At the back of the tiny clearing was a burrow big enough to squeeze through that lead up and into a completely hollowed out giant tree, a large spider guarded the entrance however.

The scarlet eyed boy wasted to time and trotted right up to the entry, observing the large arachnid.  
>"It's a large orb weaver spider. Common here, but the size suggests lots of food available here. Good news for my collection." He stalked up and with speed and dexterity to match, he grabbed the crawlie and had it in his jar with the lid closed in a short time.<br>"There may be more inside. I'll go in first and pick out the bugs that will fit in my jars." With that, he plunged in head-first and began the short spelunking trip inside.

The future detective sighed and looked over to A who was shivering at the mere thought that the giant that had halted her exploration was 'common'.  
>"They're not going to get you A..." he assured her but she shook her head.<br>"You don't know that! They're sneaky... and leggy... and... hairy..."  
>"That does not mean they can leap out of holes, fly three feet in your direction and devour you..."<br>"You don't know that!"

B made short work, stuffing little beasties into his jars when they popped up. By the time he'd reached the hollowed out tree, his jars had contained a fair number of the 'creepy crawlies' before popping his head back into view.  
>"All done! I might have missed a few, but overall, the coast is clear."<br>A crawled in after her older brother followed by the tired looking raven. It was surprisingly big inside; a perfect hiding place for them.  
>"It's bigger than it looks from the outside..." L slowly got to his feet to prove a point, the tips of his spiky and messy hair only just brushing the top of the hole.<p>

"Spicing up this space will be a cinch! We just need some essentials like seating's, a cover for the holes, flooring, blankets and we can dig out a cache for storing food and a first aid kit, and last but not least, flashlights." He absorbed the inside of the hollow, putting every part into his memory.

"It's not my area..." the detective mumbled, looking around, "But we are going to need something to stop the animals coming in and raiding the place..." What L was really thinking about stopping was the spiders, who should quickly build nests here should they allow it.  
>"I've read that sugar and baking soda mixed works wonders on insects because they are unable to burp and would die from bloating. We can use that for both entries and inlay the ground with it until they no longer show up."<p>

L nods and looks around again, taking in everything and weighing up what is needed with what will fit in the small space.  
>"We also need some kind of trip trap that will make a loud noise to warn us if someone's coming so we can hide better in here... and a clock so that we know when we have to leave so we aren't late... that's why we got caught last time..."<p>

The younger raven nods and crawls out of the hole, beginning to assess possible alarm sights. "This is going to be a lot of work," he called from the outside, "but this is going to be so much better than the last hideout if we get everything in order."  
>The other two nodded in agreement and crawled out.<br>"Are those mushrooms poisonous?" A asks curiously.  
>"They look like they taste really good..."<p>

"I wouldn't try them... take a look at that little 'cape' underneath the cap. That means not only is it poisonous, it is deadly. It is a part of the Nightcap family and should be avoided. Perhaps if we harvested them, dried them out and then rubbed them into a food item, the animal that comes to investigate will learn the hard way not to come around. Maybe we can even fashion a device that will shoot out the dried remains." He kept his gaze scouting around, not leaving out any detail.

A turned up her nose in distaste and pulled away from the offending fungus.  
>"They look so good though..." she huffed.<br>L sighed and looked away from his little sister who he was sure would have picked and eaten them if Beyond had not been with them.  
>"Looks can be very deceiving A... You should really improve your science studies so you know what to do and what not do to with flora and fauna. Heh heh, if I was any more interested in being a doctor, I'd have beat you in the running, and I'd do it with my eyes closed."<p>

A huffed loudly.  
>"I know everything there is to know about human biology thank you very much!" She turned to face away from the older males, "So excuse me if I can't tell the differences between two kinds of mushrooms!"<br>"Human biology is one thing A," B mused, "but knowing plant and animal biology helps a lot. What if you are treating a patient who was bitten by a viper? Or had ingested a plant that looked and tasted like a raspberry? What would you do then?"  
>"I could tell by the symptoms what they ate and I can run blood tests to determine what bit them." She puffed herself up confidently.<p>

"By that time, the venom and poisons from viper and mushroom would have already run their course in the bloodstream, officially putting them on possible death row." B grinned and looked at A.  
>"The proper procedure in this case is getting information from the patient. Asking what viper bit the victim can mean the difference of life and death. That way, the proper anti-venom can be retrieved. In the case of the poisonous plant, knowing the proper description of the plant ingested and its look-a-likes can help you get the proper chemicals in the patient to flush or neutralize the damage."<p>

"Whatever!" She huffed and started to head back.  
>"Don't stand on any mushrooms or puff pods, you will leave evidence everywhere..."<br>"You'll never be a great doctor unless you learn other biology and anatomy that is not of the human kind A."  
>B looked around for a moment longer before deciding he wanted to head back as well.<br>"I'm guessing that we'll have a functioning hideout within the next month. Lots of smuggling and raiding to do until then. I look forward to it."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 4

The future detective followed close behind his clumsy sister, sighing with every stick she broke and ant hill she smashed...  
>"She leaves so much evidence..." Unlike his friend who was so paranoid he would wipe the finger prints off of everything he stole.<br>"It's a pity. Her determination is strong enough for sure, but her ability to be stealthy lacks. I say that we should try follow the rockier path. less chance of footprints." He looked at his jars and shook his head.  
>"I take that back, if I trip, these jars will smash. Broken glass is the one thing we don't need to add onto the path of destruction."<p>

B nimbly hopped over a fallen branch and continued to walk.  
>"Good thing she wants to be a doctor and not a criminal..." Smart though she may, be she was not exactly quiet, nor stealthy. The future detective bent down and threw the squashed mushrooms away from their path, followed by another broken stick.<br>"Watari would follow her easily..."  
>"Anyone else who saw this would know it was A," he quipped, grinning as he did so.<br>"Even so, she needs to learn a lot more about other biology, natural chemicals, poisons and everything else nature has been given to nurture and defend itself with... something I am not ashamed to say that I'm getting a better understanding of. Humans are no different. We are cesspools for bacteria and other potentially fatal natural chemicals."  
>"Thank you Beyond." the detective sighed, kicking away another flattened mushroom out of the way.<br>"Just what we always wanted to know..."

"I can cut through the sarcasm with a butter knife Lawli." He kicked away a broken stick and continued.  
>"Thankfully this path A is making will be running short. I propose we take another, less obvious path to the hole."<br>"We will have to find one." The raven mused and finally crawled back under the fence. The red eyed boy followed suit and dusted off his pants once more and shook the soot from his head like a dog.  
>"That is something we must do." He strolled casually back with the others back into the grounds, observing a group of boys playing football.<p>

"It's going to take a fair while to get through all this," he stated and padded back to the class block.  
>"We have to hand in our assignments today... Perhaps that means Watari will return tomorrow..."<br>"Oh god I hope so!" A huffed, "Roger is a pain..."  
>"Agreed," said B.<br>"Rogers booklets bore me to tears. I think college level students of average intelligence might find this a challenge, but really, come on Roger, we're so much better than them... no offence of course, but we are." He walked up the stairs and went inside and trotted straight away to their room to set his prizes back with the rest of the jar collections.

"Well I'll see ya after class guys..." A huffed and wandered off to her own room while L followed his friend. It wasn't just the level of study it was the subjects... Basic mathematics... Biology of common animals such as toads and lizards... Physics behind bikes and cars in motion... completely dull... Watari would have him doing forensics, the science behind the beginnings of life and death itself!

B pulled out his booklets from his desk and set them on top before turning his attention to Griffin, picking up the feline and stroking her fur.  
>"If you only knew what we have to go through Griffin... you'd be bored out of your mind as well."<br>"Perhaps not..." the stone eyed male huffs.  
>"You're talking to an animal who amuses herself by devouring small animals..."<br>B looked unaffected at the remark.  
>"That is just how cats treat their food. It's no different than how you always crouch, how A always has unlimited energy and my unending love for jam."<br>"That does not make her so genius that she could outwit Roger although sometimes I do not think that would be difficult..."

"They have their ways Lawli, you can count on that. Let's get these cheap booklets in before Roger comes knocking." He sets Griffin down and takes his stack of booklets and walks to the door. L gets his own pile and slowly padded out of the room with his friend in tow. Soon enough they would have something interesting to do. The younger follows the future detective to Roger's office where the elder male was sorting through other booklets that were handed in previously. B doesn't say anything, setting his pile on the desk and backing up, waiting for his friend.

L puts his booklets on top of his friends and looks back at Roger.  
>"Do you know when Watari will be returning."<br>"I have received word yesterday that he will be returning in 3 days time, meaning he will be returning 2 days from today. All business as usual L and B. He assures you both that he is in good health." He glanced at the younger raven before dismissing the pair.  
>"Great..." L sighed and padded off down the hall. He really didn't want to go another two days on this boring schedule.<p>

"Who does he think he is anyways? We still got another 2 hours before we get our new kiddie packs and I know I'm ecstatic for them..." B kicked the wall closest to him and continued to follow his friend, ignoring the random insult or name tossed his way.  
>"Watari will return soon and then our studies can continue as normal..." Though the onyx eyed male could not stand one moment longer with boring books and basic studies.<p>

"I can't wait... It makes me want to conduct my own independent biology and mathematics studies..." He continued to pad along with his friend, not really sure or caring where it was they were planning on going or how they got there. Wammy's without Watari in it was not as engaging.  
>"What do you think would happen if something happened to Watari?" Would that leave them at the mercy of Roger?<br>"If you are asking if he's going to kick the bucket anytime soon, the answer is no, but I've no doubt that the generation that only has to see Roger will have been dumbed down a little. it would take more than one genius orphan to equal one or both of us."

The future detective brought a thumb to his lip in thought. He knew Watari had big plans for him, though he was never sure exactly what these plans entailed...  
>"I am actually feeling kind of bad for anyone who lives with Roger," B mused.<br>"Unless Watari encourages harder studies from him, then I don't doubt that the aforementioned scenario will happen." B notices that they are walking towards the large library and shuffles inside, going to the science section and taking several books from the shelves and setting them on a table nearby.

L follows not far behind however where Beyond breaks off to the biology section, the onyx eyed male heads straight for the crime and investigation section, picking up a book on criminal profiling that was new to the library's collection.

The scarlet eyed boy looked to his friend and opened one of the books, natural toxins in plants was the main focus of the book. B flipped through page by page, speed reading and putting everything to memory for analyzing and generating theories later on. Another part of his mind was looking forward to creating such compounds and turning them into a pliable form and using them on test subjects.

The library had to be the elder raven's favorite place in the entire school. It was the only place where he felt completely at ease with everything and everyone around him. The Liberian was a kind elderly lady who was incredibly smart, and unlike the other teachers seemed to know a little about everything not just her one chosen subject. She also made sure everyone kept quiet and quickly reprimanded anyone who dared openly try to bully the pair who where her favorite students, obeying all of her rules no matter how trivial.

Meanwhile, B was engrossed with his reading.  
>"Hmm...interesting..." he murmured, putting an index finger to his mouth and chewing on the fingernail. He adjusted himself into his favorite position before continuing to speed read. He'd finished half the book already before glancing again to his friend, seeing the new addition to the library. He paused in his studying to shuffle closer to the older raven and take a look at the material in there.<p>

L had become so absorbed in the new book he didn't even notice his friend move in closer to read. This new book was particularly up to date compared to some of the older additions and the case studies were far more interesting to the future detective then the other books of its kind.  
>"Oh I see you have found the new criminal profile journal I ordered for you." The librarian commented in her usual German accent as she walked past to see what he was reading this time.<br>"I thought you would like that one, I asked Watari to order it especially for you."  
>"Thank you." L replied and looked up at her for the first time.<br>"I also ordered that study of human anatomy for A and that history and identification of toxic substances book for you B though I haven't put them on the shelves yet... I do have something for you though..."

B looked up from speed reading the pages.  
>"Is that so? I look forward to the new books then when they are available. What is it that you have for me?"<br>"They should be ready by tomorrow once I add them to the library's catalog. For now though I have your rankings from the last test. You should both be very proud of yourselves as you both are in the top three in every subject." She smiled and padded over to her desk, the older raven getting up from his seat and following her, once again with his friend not far behind.  
>"Let me see... art, agriculture... ." she mumbled and went through her papers.<br>"Ahh here we go." She pulled out a sheet of paper and placed it in front of them.  
>'Science school wide rankings':<br>L= 99%  
>A= 98%<br>B= 98%'

"You scored the same as A..." the future detective mused. Sometimes her klutziness made him forget exactly how smart she was...  
>"I'm surprised she never shows that she knows this stuff considering what happened earlier..." B looked a the scores one more time.<br>"What about the other subjects for this month? How did we do in those?"  
>"All good."<p>

The librarian smiled and pulled out the other papers, putting them in front of the boys. L shifted through the papers, keenly looking for his favorite subjects.  
>'Art school wide rankings':<br>B= 95%  
>A= 94%<br>L= 92%  
>'Mathematics school wide rankings':<br>L= 100%  
>A= 99%<br>B= 99%  
>'LanguageJapanese school wide rankings':  
>L= 100%<br>B= 100%  
>A= 95%'<p>

The future detective tilted his head slightly to the side in thought, these papers seemed to indicate that the three of them where the only ones to get within the top three in any class!  
>"Are we the top three in the school now?"<br>"Why yes..."  
>"I am satisfied with these results," B said with a smile. He looked to the older Librarian and tilted his head in that way that showed he was curious about something.<br>"Miss Harder, out of curiosity... what do you think would happen if Roger fully ran Wammy's House? Would it be the same or do you think that there would be some very distinct changes in everything and how it's run?"

"Roger..." she mumbled and put both hands on her hips, looking up at the roof as she thought. "Hypothetically this is Watari's orphanage, so even in the event of his death not many changes could take place. Though I am guessing the curriculum would be simplified a great deal; Watari has far bigger things in mind..."  
>"I had the same theory in my mind also. I told Lawli that the next generation that is led by only Roger would be 'dumbed down', for a lack of a better choice of words. It would probably take about 2, maybe 3 of Roger's generation of kids he has under his wing to be equivalent to one of our generation. If it dumbs down any farther, this place would only be an orphanage with a curriculum, not a place for advancing kids and preparing them for life on the outside."<p>

"Well that may never come to pass as Roger works for Watari but is not necessarily his successor... The person he puts in charge after his death is likely to be one of the people who he raises himself, to have the same ideals for this school as he does..." She gave a kind smile and shrugs.

"Though I should not be speaking about this with you, it is speculation at this point and I will not fill your head with ideas..."  
>"You should know more than anyone that planting seeds of thought in our minds only brings about endless theories and ideas that would inevitably drive us to question Watari directly." He flashes one of his mischievous grins her way before parting from the desk to trot back to the books he had abandoned and curling on a chair before returning to reading.<p>

"That is exactly what I worry about..." She sighs and shakes her head, putting away the papers and going back to her duties. L slinked back to his friend, taking his book and curling up next to his friend.  
>"How is it that A scores so high when she pays so little attention..." She seemed to rather pull pranks then pay attention in class.<br>"She must have a different way of remembering information than you and I," mused B, not taking his attention from the book in his hand. "Her energy is boundless and she does not settle down so easily, I'm still surprised she scored the same in science as me. She didn't know what a nightcap mushroom was and she incorrectly assessed my mock scenario I gave her... She does not stop surprising though, one of the reasons she makes a good companion to us."

"Perhaps a better question is, which questions did we get wrong..." L had been expecting 100% on that test and to be off by even a fraction was disappointing to him.  
>"Perhaps it was not the question that was wrong, just the way it was answered that was unsatisfactory," said the younger.<br>"If it was Watari, the scores would have been different. I should have gotten 100% with you in Science. I'm a natural with plant and animal chemical compounds. I could dissect a boa constrictor just by looking at it and be able to describe in detail every function that each part has and where they are."

"Or perhaps the problem was that Watari has changed the standard in which he expects the questions to be answered to be slightly more difficult. Perhaps to motivate us..." L thought hard on it for a moment.  
>"It may also explain why A scored higher as she has a natural ability to sense what people require of her even if they are incredibly vague..."<br>"That could very well be the case Lawli." He closed the book in his hand and put it back, immediately picking up the next and returning to sit next to the older raven.  
>"All things considered, A's scores should technically be a tad more lower, into the mid 90's scoring area. It's where she's always been. I'll bet her reaction to seeing herself higher than 95% would come as a huge surprise."<p>

The detective nods and a small smile creeps on his face.  
>"She has been working hard, I bet she will be glad to see it pay off finally."<br>"Yeah, I would not be surprised if she was looking for us right about now to talk about her accomplishments." He continues to scan through the book, now and then glancing at the material in L's book to absorb information from it before resuming. He coughs briefly before continuing his activity.

The older raven looks up at his friend for a moment then back down at his very thick book.  
>"I will get you your medicine if you need it..." he mumbled, but would make no attempt to move unless he was asked.<br>"I'm fine, promise." He looks to the clock and notes that it is another 24 minutes away before the new assigned booklets would be given out. He frowned and looked back at his book.  
>"Not long before we have to do our kiddie studies again. Shouldn't take us too long as usual."<br>The future detective only sighed in response. He was not looking forward to more of what Roger considered 'inappropriate studies' while Watari was away. B leaned into the older raven while reading his book, finding a comfortable spot and not moving until the bells rang.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 5

The next few weeks were spent studying and hunting down supplies for their new secret base. Several more of Roger's books were completed, although when Watari returned, it was back to the studies they were so looking forward to.

B was listening with rapt attention while in one such class, this one geared towards criminology. They were currently in a mock crime scene that had some of the other students volunteering themselves as victims. Watari was a hands-on person and preferred his students to learn by doing as well as through studying. L, W, U and he were given the task of breaking down this mock scenario and determining who the suspect was without any prior background information.

The future detective inspected the scene careful with a thumb to his lip in his usual way. Looking straight at A whom seemed to be hiding something though her face barely showed it.  
>"From the size of the footprints in the carpet I can deduce that the killer must have been female, else a rather petite male. Though the slight twitch of A's lip when I said that tells me that it had to be her..."<p>

"A is not a very good criminal either at that," B mumbled, taking in the scene ahead of him, " but she'd be able to get away with it if it were any other Crime Scene Investigator." He leans down low and observes a stray hair that was not blonde.  
>"However, it is safe to say that A is not our suspect, our suspect has brunette hair... unless of course this was recently shed and has interfered with the crime scene as it is."<p>

The future detective looked back at B and his discovery for a moment.  
>"No all that means is she had an accomplice... Or is trying to frame someone..." he grabbed his younger sister by the arm and dragged her to the footprint, lining them up perfectly in an action that made the girl yelp with surprise.<br>"Same shoes and shoe size..." he then looked at the rest of the people in there line up. Three of which had matching brown hair.  
>"Or what if our suspect is trying to frame A? A has small feet, but I'll put my money on that one of these brunettes has even smaller feet and wore A's shoe at the time this heinous crime was committed." W and U nodded slowly, but made no attempt to participate it seemed.<p>

L looks at each of the others in turn before going over the evidence that they had at hand once more. This time looking carefully at the red paint smeared around the victim.  
>"The victim was moved and A is to small to do that... At least alone..." L watched A's reaction carefully, she momentarily glanced to her left where there was a small brunette girl T. The future detective watched her carefully before deciding she too was hiding something.<br>"This is either A's accomplice, or at the very least A knows of her crime... Though she too would need help moving the body... Together though..."

"Dead weight is too much, even for A and T to carry alone," observed U.  
>"I would think that there is a third party in here that would have been a little stronger than both and was wise enough to wear footwear that did not leave treads behind."<br>"Good observation U, but as you can plainly see, no one person here has flats or anything close. The suspects before us could not have changed and discarded them that quickly. If A had an accomplice, the pair of them would have had to use a lot of hand strength, perhaps leaving light bruising on the arms and legs." To prove to himself of this theory, B puts on a pair of gloves and carefully lifts up the sleeves of the 'victim' where a yellowish bruise presented itself.  
>"There you have it."<p>

It was finally Watari who walked in, clapping proudly.  
>"Well done you boys... Excellent work... A, T and H in fact where the culprits in as you stated earlier L was a botched home invasion..." he stated and smiled.<br>"I wouldn't expect any more without further examination, which we don't have time for..."

There was a united groan from the students, but no one could deny that it was a satisfying case that they enjoyed solving for the most part. B sidled next to L and waited as the other students began to gather their things in preparation for the last 2 classes for the day.  
>"And next week I will be choosing someone new to be my murderer and give them free reign to do as they please and see if the others can solve it," the elderly gentleman promised the students who where all headed of to an arts class Watari insisted they take.<p>

B followed L out into the hallways to the arts classroom. Art was something B never really liked, but had excelled in. His pieces were often referred to being 'highly emotive' and 'subtly haunting'. He currently had a painting and a half-finished carving waiting for him by the time they had finally arrived. L, however, did not enjoy the class at all. While even B could get into one of his art works when given the time, the future detective couldn't even wrap his mind around the idea that anyone could find this fun.

The scarlet eyed youth wasted no time and began to continue his carving. It had started out as a feline of some sort, but it was slowly evolving into something more sinister, but not so much that it was obvious. He worked with the carving tools with professional dexterity and skill, adding minute details that even some skilled carvers could not easily pull off as he worked.

The older raven sat at his friends side, taking out his sketch book and continued his highly technical drawing.  
>"Stop pretending you're not enjoying it!" A chirped and pulled out her painting of the two boys sitting across from her. Of all the people in the class, A was the one who got the most out of it. She saw this as a chance to vent her emotions and also as a way to improve her hand-eye co-ordination even though L would say it was her feet that need coordinating.<p>

B only glanced up and regarded A for a short while.  
>"I do not enjoy this very much at all A. I only take this class because Watari made it sort of mandatory..." He returned his attention to the carving, fleshing out more of the beast as he worked on it.<br>"It was better then the other options that he gave us," the detective mumbled, "music or dance..."

The younger raven shuddered at the thought before continuing his work. He decided after some time that he had enough of carving and turned his attention to his painting of the older raven that he aged to 17 years old. It was not particularly well drawn, but it was intentionally that way, to mislead the observer as to who it was.

The future detective let out a huff and worked right through the lesson, every now and then looking up to see what everyone else had done. This late in the year and he had still not completed a work anywhere near as good as B or A.

B put the final touches on the painting before taking to the large table for drying paintings. He'd used a lot of greys of varying shades, but never any white or black. He'd even tossed in some pink and yellow for fun.  
>"That's quite good..." the detective mumbled, though as with any artistic work he had trouble seeing why.<br>"Good? It's great!" A scolded her adopted brother.  
>"Better than mine..." A's was actually quite good in itself, yet completely different despite being similar content. Hers was far more realistic, a depiction of them both sitting there, B sculpting and L drawing just as they always did.<p>

"You have a real talent there A, at least you can tell what it is on your paper. Lawli's is more technical and mine is more abstract, but you can really see things as they are." B went to pick up his carving and returned, using chisel and blade to carve more detail and form from the wood in his hand.  
>"Yeah, but I can't do it half as well as you..." the future doctor mumbled and went to put hers on the drying rack.<br>"What about you L?"  
>"I don't like this..." he wanted to be studying something useful even if Watari considered having some form of art behind you to be important.<p>

"Don't be silly A, and Lawli, I am with you there... At least it's better than the other options, not that I'd care to even attend the others..." He paused to nibble on a fingernail, accidentally cutting his lip in the process as the action was automatic, blade or not.  
>"True..." he mumbled flatly though A just grinned.<br>"Can you picture L singing? Or in a dance group!"  
>"Thankfully not..."<p>

"Well the karate he is studying is more like a dance to the untrained eye. Capoiera is a very complex Brazilian karate style. Lots of footwork and agility is needed. In a strange way, he is almost dancing."  
>The future detective groaned loudly. He did not much like the thought of dancing as an activity. It seemed like such a pointless drain on energy.<br>"That reminds me, have you painted the walls in that bug poison paint you made yet?"  
>L remembered his friend run off to do it yesterday while he distracted the teachers so he could freely move supplies forward and backwards from their hide out.<p>

"Yeah, I just need to mix equal parts sugar and baking soda for added protection. I just hope I got the mix right. I may or may not have made it stronger or weaker than I intended. The sugar mix is just for insurance." He did not remove his attention from his carving as he spoke, using his tongue to clean away the blood that had accumulated on his lip. L watched as more blood quickly formed a ball on his friends lip and gave a soft humming sound, leaning over to wipe it away tenderly before his friend could lick it up again.

Scarlet eyes turned up to meet onyx ones.  
>"That was not necessary Lawli, but thank you anyway." His tongue darted out to lick away more of the blood, then without thinking about it, he licked the blood from his friend's finger. The action unknowingly sent tingly spiders up the older males back though even he did not know why.<br>"That was not necessary either..."  
>"I don't want my blood on you, I'll need to get a bandage and some anti-bacterial for this cut." He set his work aside and walked to the door and excused himself, walking casually to the medical wing for his lip cut.<p>

L tried to continue working for a few moments longer, but with his friend gone it was just too hard to concentrate on something he didn't even care about anyway. He let out a long sigh and got to his feet, requesting to follow his friend. It took him a few moments but soon he caught up to the younger raven, padding along beside him casually.

The younger raven shrugged his shoulders and kept walking. He knew that L didn't want to be in there any longer and had anticipated his arrival not long after he left. More blood blossomed and he licked it away.  
>"I must have cut myself deeper than I originally thought, didn't think I'd still be licking it away. Not a big fan of slightly salty things mind you..."<br>"I am sure it just needs some of that spray on band-aid solution..." the detective mumbled and unconsciously flinched. The last time they had used that on him was very painful. B grinned and lightly jabbed his friend in the arm twice.  
>"Yeah it hurts like hell, but it saves me from infection."<p>

The pair make it to the medical room and B knocked before letting himself in. The attending doctor was a young male in his mid 30's.  
>"I cut my lip with a blade by accident. Can you fix it up for me so I can get back to class?" The older male nods before approaching the younger raven to properly assess the damage. He nods before retrieving that familiar alcohol spray bottle, an anti-bacterial gel and a bandage.<br>"Now hold still, we want to make this as harmless and fast as possible." He sprayed the cut and B hissed and flinched away.  
>"Ouch... that hurts really bad..." He wanted to touch it, but was stopped so that the gel and bandage could be put on. He nodded in thanks before turning his attention back to the door, hissing softly.<p>

"Hurts doesn't it?" L had it put on his cut forehead after A accidentally sent them both down the stairs head over heels while running to class.  
>"Aloe Vera would have been better... but since this orphanage seriously lacks in natural medicines... I must bear with the pain." He hisses as he walks back, petting the bandage on his lip.<br>"You can always ask Watari to set aside space in the greenhouse and grow some yourself..." Some of the other students were growing tomatoes and flowers for their projects. At one point, A even requested a place to grow some chilies, so he was sure their mentor would let Beyond grow his medicine.

"There would simply be too little room for the herbs, roots, fruits, and flowers that would make such medicines..." he muttered, softly hissing in discomfort.  
>"I'd also have to order seeds from other countries. One cannot have the benefits of one medicinal plant, there also needs to be similar medicinal plants. Natural toxins that must be studied and experimented on so that a cure for it can be made from other plants."<br>"One would be better then nothing..." the future detective mumbled, "but I suppose there is no good in taking half measures..."  
>"Exactly, which would make little sense in talking to Watari about it... unless he is willing to build an entirely different greenhouse just for the medicinal plants that I want in there... I'll do that instead, it sounds better."<p>

The pair got back in time for the students to be completing most of their projects. He goes to put away the carving and tools used. L does the same, putting back his pens, rulers and compasses he used in his drawings to get all of the angles just right.  
>"So then our hideout is safe to enter now?" A asks loosely.<br>"No more spiders?" She had recently managed to get her hands on a rug they where tossing out from a room upstairs to use as the flooring and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hide it.

"No guarantees, but there should not be any crawlies anytime soon. I used a natural plant-based toxin that trees use as a natural defense against most bug species. Contact with it with bug feet will cause their nerves to stop, rendering them immobile and then killing them. Watari was able to order some for me."  
>"How did you get him to do that?" A wondered and put a thumb to her lip.<br>"Did you just walk up and ask for a jar of X kind of tree sap? I should ask for another dissection class..."

B rolls his eyes and sighs.  
>"I am not a natural in plant and animal biology for nothing A. I knew what tree species produce the most effective kind of bug toxin. It is really very easy to come across. A little on the pricey side, but it is worth it. I swear A... with your little knowledge, I'm surprised you even get A's in biology at all..."<p>

The young female huffed and started packing away the equipment.  
>"Just because I don't poison everything..." she mumbled under her breath.<br>"Just needs a floor and we are done..."  
>"Oh yeah I have an old rug we can cut to size and fix to the floor, I'm going to need help though... The measurements, the cutting and then transporting without getting caught..."<br>"I heard that..." The scarlet eyed boy sighs before raising a brow at the mentioning of a rug.  
>"I'm pretty sure Lawli knows how to cut the rug already. I can help you move the rug, although... L has been our main distraction. Perhaps you can stall them this time A while we haul the rug. It will get there faster, no offence."<p>

"None taken... I'm a better distraction anyway..." she mumbled and stuck her tongue out.  
>"We have 15 minutes until the next class, go up and cut it, make two layers for the floor and then as soon as class is over I'll hold up the teachers and you get it to the hideout!"<br>"Alright..." it sounded simple enough...  
>"We'd better get a move on then Lawli, 15 minutes isn't exactly a large window for cutting and hauling... Where did you store it A?"<br>"Behind the cupboard in my room," she chirps and waves them off.  
>"Hide it back there when you're done and it should be fine." With that in mind L quickly slinked out of the classroom in his usual, cat like manner. They would have to be careful not to be noticed.<p>

B paced himself beside the older raven as they sneaked into the female wing, taking caution to not be spotted and reported to the wing's resident guardian. If Q saw them, it might spell trouble, though sometimes that was not always the case. Fortunately as they entered A's room, no one was within eye or ear shot so L slipped inside unnoticed followed by his friend and closed the door carefully.  
>"Thirteen minutes to go..."<p>

The younger raven made a bee line to the cupboard A spoke of and with the help of the onyx eyed boy, they were able to move it enough to free the carpet and have roll it out without making the space further messy than it was.  
>"This is a lot larger than anticipated."<br>"She did say we would have enough for two layers..." the future detective mumbled.  
>"Three if where economic about it..." L thought carefully.<br>"The more layers, the longer it will take and the harder it will be to move without being seen... We should aim for two and if we have time for a third then we can go for it..."  
>"Sounds good to me Lawli." B dug into his large pocket and procured a sharp blade used for cutting duct tape. He brandished it before looking to the detective.<br>"This should do the trick... just let me know where to cut the material."

L moved to his little sisters desk, taking a pencil and marking along the edges in the exact shape of the inside of the tree. After this they would just need a door and blankets, it was after all about to get very cold very soon. Red eyes looked on with a concentrated gaze, not missing a single detail of the pencil marks. When the first layer was marked, B took the blade and began to cut with pin point precision, staying within the lines.

L marked out a second layer before checking the time. They wouldn't have time to mark out a third, but two layers would keep them warm enough if they did as originally planned and put newspaper between layers. The younger raven finished cutting out the first layer and moved it to the side before starting on the second layer. He worked as quickly as he could without botching up the job. He was finished when they had only 7 minutes to spare.

"Alright we're done." L mumbled and hid everything away again. They would have to come and get it after class when A could distract the teachers...  
>"That should work for the time being. Hopefully A can hold them back long enough." He shuffled outside with his friend and made sure they were not seen while they made their escape back to the boys wing.<p>

Quickly, they gathered everything they would need for their last class: Sport. It was both raven's least favorite class as they would both be heavily picked on. L and B where slightly privileged in that they where part of Watari's five time weekly Martial Arts training where a few students where singled out to be trained by a master as a means to keep them fit and healthy despite these individual's dislike for team sport. The elder raven also enjoyed tennis but this month was basketball.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 6

"I am absolutely ecstatic for this last class," B said with heavy sarcasm.  
>"Our strengths do not lie with an orange rubber inflatable ball and nylon nets. I prefer more singular activities... I can't wait to hear what new insults the rest of the kids have this time..."<br>"Stick, scrawny bastard, anorexic..." the future detective sighed and pulled on his short, breathable sports pants.  
>"I am sure they will peg the ball at our heads again and then call us losers when we cannot catch it... at least its only once a week..." L couldn't help but wish that their little sister was in their class, but seeing as the classes where grouped on skill, her boundless energy put her in a far higher class...<p>

B sighed heavily and hunched further to match the future detective's hunch and flipped on his selective hearing the moment they walked inside late to the class where the other students of their level already began to snicker amongst each other. The elder raven kept his face completely blank and made no move to get the ball, as soon as he got the chance he would position himself between the people and his friend so the insults and attacks focused on him more.

The match started without a hitch and B tried to participate as much as he could. He was body checked and nearly tripped.  
>"Lame ass... Skeleton... Freak..." All those words went through ears that did not register them, chosen to be ignored in favor of just getting through this one class. L helped his friend up and dusted him off, having someone peg the ball at the back of his head so hard he saw stars.<br>"Hehehe that's right, help your skeleton pet!"

B glared at the offending student, but patted his friend's back and smiled before rubbing his head to help clear away the fuzziness he must be briefly seeing.  
>"Let this be over soon..." L sighed and closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling for a moment. One of the shorter males named 'Z' thought it would be great to cause embarrassment on the pair by nudging L forward, startling B when the proximity caused their lips to make contact. B's eyes widened before he parted from the 'unintentional' kiss.<p>

The action caused everyone to break out into laughter including the coach. The future detective however only moved to touch his lip where Beyond's own had made contact with him and blushed ever so faintly. B flushed slightly with a mixture of shame and something else that he did not know the name of.  
>"Homos!" This callout made the laughter stronger, not even the teacher could stop the light chuckle from escaping. That was enough to convince B to take L's arm and leave the gymnasium together, fueling the insults further. The future detective tried to shut out their words, instead just focusing on wherever his friend was leading him. This would be the perfect opportunity to get some use of their hideout which was suddenly needed.<p>

B was breathing hard by the time he finally stopped walking near Roger's office, having gotten there blindly. He punched the wall and tried to calm his breathing that only seemed to get worse. He'd forgotten to take his medicine and was now starting to visibly struggle for breath. He was mad at Z for doing that, but he could not deny it was... nice. However, that was not important as fear began to take over his features.

The future detective watched his friends struggle for a few long moments before deciding things would not get better on there own. He scooped the younger male up bridal style and carried him down the hall a short way Watari's study. The younger raven coughed and began to wheeze, one of his hands finding L's arm and gripping it tightly as he squeezed his eyes shut tight. He wanted to talk about the incident, and would later on, if he lasted that long.  
>*No room for doubt now Beyond... Keep calm...*<p>

The elder looked down at his boys, seeing the younger in distress.  
>"Watari, we have a problem." On the outside, L was calm, but on the inside he was churning with worries. He slowly sat down with his friend and cuddled close to keep him calm. The older male wasted no time and removed a puffer from his medical cabinet. He gave it a couple vigorous shakes before placing the puffer to the younger raven's mouth.<br>"Take a deep breath Beyond when I say to, alright?" B nodded weakly and wheezed more.  
>Watari pressed down and gave the command, filling the younger raven's airway with the medicine. He held his breath and coughed before nodding, inhaling more of the medicine.<p>

Watari rubbed the scarlet eyed boys chest to stimulate normal breathing and didn't stop until his breaths had evened out again.  
>"Better?" asked the onyx eyed male, looking over his friend and running long spidery fingers through his thick black hair.<br>"Y-yeah... I forgot to take my medicine this morning..." He looked a little shamed admitting it, but leaned his head into the soft touch. Watari did a quick check-up anyways, telling B to stay still while he went over his chest and back with a Stethoscope.

L held his friend tightly the entire time, keeping him safely warm.  
>"We had a little issue with the other students again..." the detective mumbled and continued his soft petting.<br>"What happened that you would abandon your physical activities? I thought that it was Beyond having breathing issues." The younger raven shook his head.  
>"That was only later."<br>"Then what pray tell happened then?" B only hung his head.  
>"They called us homos and laughed us out of the class..." the future detective mumbled and lifted a knot from his friend's hair.<p>

The elder male made a noise in his throat indicating contemplation.  
>"I will speak to the sports teacher and bring up the matter. I will also arrange for an assembly. It will not go unnoticed, rest assured." B had closed his eyes, but not missing anything that was said. He nodded and winced a little when the knot was freed. He got up and took his place by his friend and smiled weakly.<br>"Thank you Watari..."  
>"May I put in a formal request to not to participate in that class any longer?" the future pride of Wammy's House mumbled.<br>"The teasing has only escalated..."

"I'm afraid I cannot do that L. To get full credentials in this orphanage, you must participate in all main subjects and at least 2 extra-curricular courses. I chose Art and Sports for you both for this reason. Unless you wish to drop Sports in favor of Dance or Music?"  
>"Can't you simply credit us on our martial arts studies?" the detective debated.<br>"They torment us..."

"I will bring up the issue with the teacher and in the assembly. I will not discuss this further, L. Just know that it will be taken care of." B could hold his silence no more then.  
>"They'll just pretend that they did no wrong and make false promises! I hate seeing L hurting himself over me and I know he does it because he cares, but this has gone too far Watari. Z made us kiss!"<p>

The future detective frowned slightly.  
>*Was it really that bad?* He thought to himself, but automatically brought a hand to his friends own to comfort and calm him.<br>"They deliberately put us in harm's way, they get some enjoyment out of hurting us. It is not only Rue and I, there are people in A's class that are badly picked on... I propose a sports class be made for those being picked on alone... Free of ridicule..."  
>"That strategy does not work out I'm afraid... If I created a sports class for those who are bothered, it would only bring about more hate. Divide and conquer... that is a mentality I wish to avoid."<br>"But Watari! It won't stop even if you intervene!"

"Then may we be excused for the remainder of the day?" L wasn't about to make his friend go back to that class, not now.  
>"You are excused from that class for today. Hopefully by next week things will look up though." B nodded and let himself be led away from the office, staying by his friend. The detective made for A's room slowly so his friend could keep up.<br>"Just think, after today all we will need is a door and a few more blankets and we will have a place all our own..."

"Yeah... we won't have a reason to come back here when things get too rough on us. I was so tempted to tell that ass Z when he was going to die. I didn't because I hate being called a Demon. By the way, if we are going to move the rugs, shouldn't we let A know so she could properly distract the teachers for us?"  
>"No need," the detective mumbled and slipped into A's room.<br>"Everyone except the grounds keeper will be in class..."

B nodded and grabbed a rug layer and rolled it for easier transporting. He waited for the older raven to do the same before stalking back down the hallways, being careful to be extra quiet around Roger and Watari's offices. Soon enough the pair were outside and sneaking towards the hole in the fence.

L crept under first so he could help his friend from the other side, giving him a hand up and to brush off his pants. The younger raven followed suit and dusted his pants before following the onyx eyed youth towards the hideout. They had finally found a route that even A can walk through and not leave any evidence behind.

The new route was slightly longer, but they got there soon enough, crawling right into the dark hole, pushing aside their temporary door. Carefully, L laid down the carpets which fit snugly; L's memory making the margin of error in its cutting only slight. Thankfully, they planned ahead and got enough old newspaper to line the first layer with the second so that there would less heat lost.  
>"Along with blankets and flashlights Lawli, we'll need to start raiding the pantry for honey and peanuts, the two things nature has given us that last forever. Jam and other foods are welcomed as well, but they should last more than 3 weeks to be useful to us."<p>

L looked around at the walls which had been varnished with Beyond's shiny but see-through poisonous paint.  
>"Are you sure this isn't poisonous to humans or felines?" he mumbled, "Or foxes. I wouldn't like to come in here to find a rotting fox body..."<br>"It might make humans ill for a week or more, but other than that, it would be ok, though I would not recommend keeping food near it. We can have a ruck sack and store our preserves, honey and peanuts inside. As for other animals... it was only geared to insects, I can't tell you if it would seriously injure or kill animals like cats or foxes."  
>"We will have to be careful not to get any near Griffin then..." the detective mumbled and took a deep breath.<br>"And the door, we need to figure out how to seal it..."

B nods before laying out the second layer.  
>"I think we'll need to fashion one out of the spare lumber in the back of the groundskeeper's home. I saw some large flat pieces that we can toss over the fence." B puts his finger to his lip in thought for a moment.<br>"We can get creative with it though..."  
>"Your wood carving skills could come in handy..." the detective mused.<br>"Many cultures carve dark imagery into their walls and door frames to scare away demons... dragons, gargoyles and the like..."

B kept his finger in place in his mouth.  
>"Hmm... sounds like a good idea. I studied a little of camouflage art. I can make them blend into a bark pattern of the tree so that there is a seamless blend."<br>The detective nodded and smiled slightly.  
>"I don't even have to ask A what she would like... She has always had an obsession with dragons..." when they would play as small children, A no matter what game, their little sister would always want to be a dragon.<p>

"It will be lengthy though, maybe a month to work on it or so." He smiled and bit on his fingernail.  
>"That she does. I remember being 'rescued' by you a few years back. That was a fun day." His smile widened at the memory.<br>"They're all good memories..." Being with his friend made his life after his parents death worth all the pain he had suffered before.

B settles himself on the carpet and pats the ground next to him, encouraging the older to sit next to him.  
>"Let us sit and relax for a little while Lawli." He lays on his back and closes his eyes, using his arms as a pillow. The older male sits down next to his friend and relaxes back against the tree. He couldn't stop thinking about today's events. The basket ball game, the ridicule, the kiss...<br>"I didn't mind..." He mumbled absent mindedly.  
>"Neither did I... but it was sort of unexpected..." He peeks an eye open and looks to his friend. "It... it felt nice, I guess." He sidles himself closer to the warmer body and curls into him, still on his back.<p>

L wriggles closer himself, letting his head rest against the others shoulder innocently and taking a deep, calming breath. B let his hand trail up and play with his hair, petting the hair softly while taking even breaths, losing himself to sleep.  
>"Love you Lawli..." he murmured innocently, rolling to his side and curling more into the older's body. It wasn't long before the elder raven followed suit, rolling over and curling up into his friend. He gave the fire-eyed boy a soft and innocent kiss on the forehead and soon drifted off for the first time in two days.<p>

The pair had been in such peaceful slumber that they did not notice that A had entered the newly carpeted space some time later. She had intuitively brought a couple blankets and covered them up before sitting nearby and watched them sleep with a smile on her face. The future doctor knew how little sleep her older brother got and didn't want to wake him until she absolutely had to. Unfortunately though, all good things must come to an end and just over three hours later she had to wake the wilder eyed boy so they could head back to their rooms, making it the longest sleep the young L had in a long time.

"Hey... wake up B..." she whispered and shook his shoulders softly. B made a soft whimpering sound at first and curled more into the future detective for a moment longer before reality crept back into his expression. He murmured something unintelligible and let his scarlet gaze settle on A.  
>"A...?" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and slowly sat up.<br>"Hey..." She mumbled and smiled.  
>"I let you sleep for about three hours, but we really have to be getting back now..."<p>

B huffed out a sigh before turning his attention to the older raven and gently nudging his friend back into wakefulness.  
>"Lawli, time to wake up..."<br>Just as his friend did the future detective at first tried to roll over into his friend more and go back to sleep for a few moments before realizing that it was no use.  
>"Beyond? A?" he mumbled and stretched, only to realize there wasn't much room to stretch out in.<br>"I guess we have to head back right away... It is getting late and we should try to be back before room check starts..." B pulled the older raven into a hug to pull him into a more seated position.

L nods and crawls out of the hole slowly to see the sun setting rapidly.  
>"We really will have to hurry..." it wouldn't be long now before everyone was confined to their rooms for the night. B stretches as soon as he exits the hole and feels joints pop back into place. He waits for the older raven to start walking so that he could follow him.<p>

A may have been the last to exit their little den but she was the first under the fence.  
>"Night guys!" the blue eyed girl chirps and makes her way across the field, blending in with those leaving their various sports games. The scarlet eyed boy crawls under the hole and helps the older raven get through before dusting their knees off and walking casually by his side.<br>"Night A..." he murmured.  
>"Good night..." the older detective managed just as she disappeared though the doors and out of sight.<br>"I can't believe I fell asleep..."

"You haven't slept in a few days; your body needs rest, even if it's for only an hour or more. I'm still tired though... lay in bed with me when we get back?" It was an age old request that B had asked almost every night since his arrival, though he would usually crawl in the older's bed when the nightmares were bad enough.

"Alright..." he mumbled and, in a rare action, yawned softly. Somehow it was easier to stay awake; the less sleep he had and even after a short nap he would always feel more tired. This was something he would outgrow, but his young body needed more rest then he allowed himself. B walked inside with the future detective and shuffled back to their shared room where he began to strip and jump into the shower for a much needed cleaning. He hated there to be any grime on him before bed.

The future detectives stomach was growling. They had slept right through dinner that night so now he would have to do without. He slowly stripped down himself and waited for his turn in the shower, getting brushing his teeth out of the way while he waited.

The younger's shower took long enough and he walked out and left the water running so his friend could go in without having to start the water again. He only made the water slightly cooler as his friend usually preferred and began to dry himself off while still sharing the same space. He would brush his teeth too while he was at it.

The elder walked in to the shower being exactly as he liked it. Had he been the first one in he would have warmed it up for his friend as they each had been together that long that they knew exactly how the other liked almost everything in their daily lives. Few things were hidden from the other, and that's just how they liked it.

The scarlet eyed boy brushed his teeth while the older took his shower. When he was finished, he went to his mouse jar to get food for their cat, but forgot to catch more mice. He groaned and looked at the empty jar, willing a mouse to appear to no avail. He sighed and walked outside to the kitchen to get some of the disgusting cat food that Griffin rarely ate. There was a half can of food still available and he removed it before trotting back to the dorm room.

L appeared from his shower just in time to see his young friend putting the sloppy, ground up parts of fish that are not suitable for humans to eat into their kitten's bowl. It was a rare sight indeed as he would rather do the hunting for Griffin who was not allowed out of their room.  
>"Again no mice?" he mumbled, they had intended to save a portion of each of there dinners for her but they slept right through...<br>"No..." B sighed, encouraging the scruffy looking cat to eat the 'slop' as he so blatantly put it one day.  
>"The one extra jar I neglect to bring and Griffin has to eat this disgusting shit... Sorry girl, but I'll get you lots of mice tomorrow. I'll have to ask Watari for a feeder prey container so I can store more mice inside..."<p>

"You can always breed them..." the future detective mumbled and picked up one of Rue's neglected animal studies books and flicked through quickly.  
>"Here." He lifted up the page showing a large plastic tub that had been modified to breed rats and mice. He could even get away with it if he put it in the animal studies room and claimed it was part of his research into the benefits of letting cats eat wild caught food.<br>"You could easily pick up this class again, I know its base but it would make up for the class you are going to drop in English... and A would be in your class... she is doing the veterinary side of it as extra practice in giving needles etc. You can write a paper on it..."

"I suppose I could..." he mumbled. He'd taken an interest in animal sciences and biology for a short while before finding out that plant sciences and biology was a far more broad and interesting subject. He takes up the book and flips through forgotten pages, speed reading a few of them to get his memory and interest back up.  
>"I remember a lot of this stuff, but lost interest. If Griffin needs more food, I can start giving her a near unlimited supply."<br>"Yes, and like A, you can simply find other uses for this subject..." The older mumbled.  
>"It would also give her more variety in her diet as you could attempt to breed other species such as quails and chickens... Well that class already has chickens... and Watari is getting them a dog I hear..."<p>

"I have an idea as to what I would like to do with this again. It will take a new approach, but it should work if I pull it off. Maybe I should just study the whole spectrum of science and biology. I could learn something from it... maybe be a biophysicist if I wanted to and apply what I know to crime scenes..." Ideas and theories began to generate quickly and it made his wild eyes flash bright for a short while.

"Perhaps you should. You can always take up more science subjects and drop some of the others. Many of the classes are too easy for you now anyway..." he mused as he through his towel into the hamper and pulled on his usual grey boxer shorts to sleep in.  
>"I'll do it then. It's settled..." He fishes out his night wear and shuffles under the blanket and turned off his lamp just as Roger knocked on the door to check in on them.<p>

L stays standing where he is, intending to move to his friends bed with him instead of his own as soon as Roger leaves. As usual the older male checks everything and gives the okay before turning off the lights and closing the door for the night. The future detective wisely waits a few moments to make sure Roger does not do a double take before crawling into bed with the red eyed raven.  
>"Good night Beyond..."<p>

The scarlet eyed boy grips onto an arm and holds onto it, curling in closer to the older raven and letting himself be lost to his nightmares, whatever comes out of them.  
>"Night Lawli..." He settles further into the older's frame and breathes deep and slow. The elder tired eyed boy rests his head on his friends and closes his eyes, knowing full well he wouldn't be able to sleep but going through the motions anyway.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 7

The nightmare that took over B's dream state was a recurring one, a time lapse of countless people who would begin to collapse one after the other, in the same way that Lawli had done in the past. They all had died before they were supposed to and it unnerved the younger raven. He wanted to look away, but couldn't; helpless to stop the numbers that suddenly stopped ticking away. A hand clasped over his mouth suddenly, but there was no color to the skin, it was only grey, making his eyes widen in absolute horror. He tried to get away, but suffered the relentless attacks to his body from his unseen attacker.

L opened his eyes as the younger started shivering once more and sighed. He had hoped that after that short dreamless sleep before he might find some peace tonight.  
>"Beyond... shh..." he whispered and ran his fingers through the boys hair.<br>"I'm here..."  
>The attacks were relentless and brought pain to the younger where pain should not be felt. He struggled against his attacker, but was only hurt further. He cried out and felt tears falling down his face.<br>"S-stop! P-please!"

After a few moments of failing to calm his young friend he decided it would be best to wake him. "Beyond." He mumbled and shook his shoulders gently until crimson orbs met granite ones.  
>"Hey..."<br>The wild eyed youth had tears in his gaze. He held onto the older and willed his shivering to go away. "H-he... he h-hurt m-e... again... H-he n-never st-stops h-hurting m-me..."  
>"I know..." L whispered and pulled his friend in close, rubbing slow, soothing circles on the younger males back.<br>"But I won't let him get you..."

The dream brought much shame to the younger, but he knew that Lawli would never hurt him, would never leave him behind. He continues to will the shivering away while trying to enjoy the gentle touch from the older. It was not even close to 2 AM yet, which meant a sleepless night for the younger raven.

"Today that doctor's going to see you again..." the older mused, trying to take his friends mind off of everything.  
>"Maybe he even has some better medicine for you..."<br>The younger frowned at this.  
>"I don't like that doctor... Always too much pressure... It hurts my jaw all the time..." He cupped a hand to his jaw in memory of the last visit.<br>"They can't ever find out what's wrong with me Lawli... I don't even know why I have so much troubles with my lungs..."

"Maybe this time it will be different..." L mumbled and unconsciously curled around his friend even more. The thought of losing his little brother and best friend one day because his lungs just fail hung heavily on his shoulders.  
>"They will find a way to help you Rue... or I will..." There had been times when the wild eyed male would collapse and stop breathing without warning and he had already been told twice that he probably wouldn't make it through the night...<p>

"They say that all the time... it never gets any better, it stays the same and... I hate record players... I'm a freak who can't even breath properly..." B settled into his friend's embrace and looked into the red tinted darkness. He looked into the older raven's face and saw a little light dance across his features when the numbers drifted close enough.

"You're not..." the older assured him, pulling his friends head into his chest to listen to his heart rather than worry about the numbers he knew he saw.  
>"One day I will find someone who will fix it Beyond... if I don't then I will give you my own... I swear..."<p>

The heartbeats were strong and he felt them as well as heard them.  
>"I don't want you to sacrifice your eyes for me. You need them to dissect the things in front of you. I don't want you to sacrifice them for me."<br>"Not just my eyes... my lungs if you need them..." he soothed.  
>"I'd rather not live then live and have you die before your time because I could not do anything... Besides I am not sure removing your eyes would help... Perhaps the problem lies in your mind, and even with my eyes you would see the same..."<p>

"No... You are not going to die so I can live... It you die, I'll die with you, I don't care. I care about you too much to simply let you go..." He hugged his friend's chest tightly, but not so much it would cause discomfort.  
>"I feel the same way..." the elder purred and closed his eyes, its not like he could see much of anything anyway.<br>"Try to get back to sleep..."

"I don't think that it is all in my head Lawli... I've been seeing these numbers since I was very small. It would be highly unlikely that I have had a mental problem that lets me see numbers and names... besides, I can't see my numbers... I don't know when I'm gonna die... that's what worries me..." He nuzzles the older's chest and tries to sleep, but that was enough nightmares for the night. He closed his eyes and just lay there.

"Yes, but if I where to remove your eyes and have them transplanted into someone else or give you someone else's eyes, I am not sure that they would see the way you do or that you would simply not turn your new eyes red... What I am suggesting is that this goes deeper then your eyes..."  
>"I know... My origins, how I have come into existence... I have no answers to it. I have no father and my mother and step father hid me from the other kids. Mother was ashamed for having a demon child and asked her God why she was forsaken with a blasphemous offspring."<p>

"I think you where born to do something great..." the detective mumbled and stroked the other boys neck. B hummed softly at the touch and leaned into it.  
>"I wish I were... but I am doubtful because what if tomorrow is my day I leave this earth? What if it's next week, next month or next year? I just don't know..." One area at the back of his head when touched sent tingles down his spine and he shuddered lightly at the contact.<p>

"You can see your own lifespan..." the detective said with a smile, "just look at mine and minus a short time; I wouldn't go on without you..."  
>"What if you were destined to live longer than me? What if I was destined to live longer than you? I can't say when I'll die because my numbers, if they ever chose to reveal themselves would be different than yours..." He nuzzled the older's chest again and sighed. The detective sighed and slowly played with his friends dark hair. He wouldn't survive without him, he was sure of it.<p>

B didn't say much of anything after that, just enjoying the peace and calm that the situation provided them with. When light began to pour into their bedroom some hours later, B opened his eyes, having drifted into a short nap 2 hours earlier. He yawned and stretched, not forgetting that the older raven was still under him at this time. He relaxed for a short while longer before pushing himself into a kneeling position to look at his friend with a lazy grin.

"Good morning Beyond..." the older mumbled, his eyes portraying yet another sleepless night.  
>"Morning Lawli..." He yawns and stretches again before maneuvering himself off the bed, almost stepping on their cat in the process. He looks at the cat food, seeing most of it still uneaten.<br>"I will get you more mice today baby girl, don't you worry."  
>"You are making her into a fussy eater..." the elder commented, slowly getting out of bed himself. It was Saturday, the day the doctor was due to come around and give Rue the results of the last round of testing...<p>

"Hardly, she was raised on wild food, ever since I introduced her to crickets, then grubs and finally mice. Wild food is and always will be better than processed food." He goes to his desk drawer and pulls out his medicine for the day, shaking the puffer lightly before inhaling the medicine once before putting it back. The future detective shuffled into the bathroom to start his morning rituals. He was always more worried about his friend's visits from the doctor then Beyond ever was.

B waited until his friend was done and passed the time trying to get their cat to eat the processed food.  
>"I know it's disgusting, but it's all I can do until I get more mice for you. I have a plan to give you an unlimited supply, but you'll have to wait for it for now." The cat looked up at him and looked away as if she knew what he was saying and scoffed at him. He reacted as if she did.<br>"It's not my fault Griffin, and you know it..."

As he got out of the shower and got dressed for the day, L's expression and body language gradually became more tense. Hopefully this doctor would be the one with answers...  
>"Are you up for a shower or going straight to the doctor before breakfast?"<br>"I can shower after breakfast. This doctor's appointment is more important right now..." He changed his clothes and disappeared into the bathroom to brush his teeth again before walking out and going to the doorway.  
>"Come along then..." he huffed, "let's get this over with..."<br>L nodded and padded along behind his friend to Watari's office where this was bound to take place. The trip there was silent as the elder raven was tangled in thoughts.

The scarlet eyed youth knocked on the door politely before letting himself in, seeing their adoptive father and another person, presumably the doctor that would be treating him today. It was an older woman and she seemed kind enough, but the untrusting nature that B had for others besides L and Watari did not let him return the smile that was given to him.

"You're staying again too, L?" the gentleman asked even though the answer seemed obvious.  
>"I wouldn't leave him..."<br>"These two young men are 'L' and 'B' I presume?" The elder male nods and gestures to the scarlet eyed youth.  
>"That is 'B', his eyes and personality are the only things that set him apart from my oldest son 'L'." The older woman smiled kindly and motioned for the younger raven to step forward. B remained motionless and unblinking. Watari repeated the action and slowly did he step forward, gripping his friend's hand and tugging gently.<br>"Will it hurt?" Watari shakes his head.  
>"This will not hurt and it will not take long as long as you are co-operative."<p>

"I'm right here..." the older assured him and gave a small, encouraging squeeze to his friends hand. He was curious to see if she could make anything of Rue's illness... He so badly needed more effective medication. The younger raven took a seat near Watari and looked to his friend before turning a stony gaze to the doctor who had a Stethoscope and some oral examination tools. He gulped heavily and shivered lightly, the last doctor's visit still vivid in his mind.  
>"Let us have a listen at your lungs first shall we?" She took the end of the tool and breathed on it before approaching the boy who flinched away from her.<p>

"Do not worry B, it will be all right." The scarlet eyed youth tensed, but allowed his shirt to be moved up.  
>"I need you to take a nice deep breath B, as much as you can manage." The scarlet eyed youth hesitated, but took in a deep, slightly shaky breath. The older boy slowly ran his fingers through his friend's hair to try and keep him calm. That was what he was here for after all.<br>"You've seen his files and the X-rays right? And the blood work? Do you know what's wrong with him?"  
>"I would like to do this brief check-up first and compare it to the notes I've received. I can determine from there what sort of trauma to his lungs, biological or not, had occurred. From what I got in the notes, it sounds like something biological, maybe something he inherited from one of his parents. Since I have little information on the mother and no information on the father, I cannot reach a logical conclusion. I can certainly make as close a guess as possible though."<p>

The raven continued his soft petting as she worked, waiting until she moved to check his pulse before speaking again.  
>"I really don't care what's wrong with him, what I need to know is if we can fix it..."<br>"When I know what the problem is for certain, a solution can be found. I would like to request a biopsy of his lungs, but seeing that they are in a delicate condition as it is, getting one would be impossible. His x-rays show slight clouding towards the center near his heart. Those could be benign growths or something far more serious and could in fact be putting his life in serious risk." B had blocked out the doctor's words, focusing on his friend and trying to hum a tune in his mind.

The young boys eyes darkened slightly. He knew his friends life was in danger already but hearing it was still hard.  
>"He can do a lung biopsy if that's what's needed... There will be ways to minimize the damage..."<br>"The fastest way would be to enter the lungs via the throat. I can get a probe with a small cutting tool attached to remove one of these potential growths, but do take note that it would take around 3 days before a result will be found. I can return here at the soonest possible date to have this probe done. We normally do this for unconscious patients, but with B's lungs as they are, I will have no choice but to go in while he is conscious. It will be very uncomfortable, but I will bring a numbing solution that should minimize the pain for the removal."

L nudged his friend a little to make sure he was paying attention to the important parts.  
>"And how long will it take for him to recover?"<br>"With his health records that I've seen, I'd have to say about 2 weeks. I'd recommend that he do not engage in any rigorous activities or be placed in a situation where he hyperventilates. He should be in a sterile and dust-free environment for at least the first week so to not compromise his healing process."  
>B had been listening on and off, dreading that he was going be put through more pain. He gripped L's hand tighter.<p>

"Does that mean we will be separated?" the future detective mumbled. He would do it to protect B's health, but he wasn't sure his friend would allow that...  
>"I'm afraid so, until his lungs have healed to allow for outside contact again, he needs to be isolated and handled only by the resident health care provider."<br>B began to shiver violently at that and held onto his friend with both arms.  
>"N-no... Let L-Lawli stay with me... p-please..." His eyes watered and he frowned. L moved in to hold his friend tightly pulling him in close to shield him.<br>"I'm sorry..."

"Grey Man will hurt me! He won't st-stop hurting me! Lawli keeps me safe from Grey Man... P-please!" He shivers and begins to rock back and forth while plastering himself next to the older raven.  
>"Don't let Grey Man hurt me Lawli..."<br>"I won't... I won't..." the future detective looked up at Watari sadly for a moment.  
>"He won't have it, find another way."<br>"If you are willing to wear a sterile suit and face mask, I am sure that there is no problem with you seeing him then." The older woman considers this then gives the slightest of nods.  
>"I see no problem, but he still needs to be isolated, there is no getting around this."<p>

B didn't stop shivering or rocking himself back and forth.  
>"N-no... no... p-please... no..."<br>L shakes his head and rubs the boys back in an attempt to calm him.  
>"If I'm not there to hold him at night then it will only stress him and worsen his condition..."<p>

B went still all of a sudden and tensed. He fixed his red gaze to the older lady and glared. Before he could stop himself, he lunged forward and tackled the older lady down and began to assault her.  
>"I don't want to be alone! Don't let me be alone!"<p>

The elder male who had been pushed down with the sudden movement quickly scrambled to his feet and pulled his friend away from what was his second ever violent outburst. The other boy was thrashing so badly, his elbow connected with L's lip, putting a tooth through it and making it drip blood down his friends back.  
>"Beyond s-stop!"<p>

B snarled and continued his blind anxiety filled attack on the older lady who was trying desperately to defend herself from his fists.  
>"I don't want to be alone! You can't separate us!"<br>L again pulled his friend off of the doctor again and got in between them, pulling his friend into a hug and taking the painful misfired blows in an attempt to stop the attack.

The wild-eyed boy started to thrash, but stopped himself, realizing that he was nowhere near the now battered woman who was trying to gain her composure back. He looked down and saw his friends arms and he realized what he did. He became limp in the older raven's grip and began to mutter apology after apology. He shivered and gripped onto his friend and sniffled, further apologizing.

"Shh... I've g-got you..." the elder mumbled, the pain of his lip and his chest and stomach where elbows, fists and even a knee made contact.  
>"I didn't mean to... I'm so sorry... please forgive me..." He looked with wet eyes to his adoptive father and sniffled.<br>"I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it... Sorry..."  
>"L, perhaps you should take B back to your room for now. I need to have a talk with the doctor regarding a few things."<p>

"Y-yes..." L mumbled and got to his feet slightly shakily after being accidentally beaten so badly.  
>"Come on..."<br>"You're hurt Lawli... I'm really sorry, but we should go to the medical room and get you checked on." He held up his friend and diverted their path to the medical room before knocking on the door.

"I really don't need this..." he assures his friend, putting his hand up to top the blood from running down his chin.  
>"Please Lawli... let me help you this time..." The door opens where they are greeted by the older male.<br>"What seems to be the... Oh, I see."  
>"I... I hurt him by accident..."<p>

L gets led through the infirmary doors to sit on the bed, his hand still to his lip and the other on his sore stomach.  
>"Did the both of you get into a little scuffle during sparring?" B shook his head side to side, holding onto the future detective's arm.<br>"He was protecting me from hurting someone and I didn't react in time... Watari saw... Will he be ok?"  
>"I will clean his visible wounds and check for any internal damaging, but I do believe he will be alright."<p>

"Don't worry Beyond..." the panda eyed male mumbles and takes off his shirt to go through the usual round of checks. The raven is handed a tissue to hold to his lip and he sits and waits calmly for everything to happen.

The examination takes a few minutes. There is some bruising that did not indicate any major internal damaging, but those would go away. The soft hisses told of the resistance training that he'd gone under. He stops he examination with an order to avoid prolonged strenuous tasks.

"Are we done?" he asks, still holding the tissue over his still bleeding wound.  
>"I just need to clean and seal this cut of yours and then you are more than welcome to leave." He goes to retrieve an alcoholic swab and a bandage. Knowing that 'L' was the more co-operative of the pair, he wasted no time in cleaning the cut, putting on some antibacterial medicine and topping that with the bandage.<br>"You are free to go."

The future detective mumbled a quick 'thank you' before pulling himself to his feet and padding out of the room at a slightly slower pace then usual. The younger raven stayed at his friend's side and used himself as an extra support as they walked back.  
>"I really didn't mean to hurt anyone... I just don't want to be separated from you Lawli... I hope that the doctor can forgive me..."<br>"It's okay Beyond..." the older mumbled, wanting to tell him she would but knowing that there is a chance she wouldn't.

B felt the sensation of dread hang more heavily in the air. He was definitely not looking forward to the biopsy appointment. What if the doctor purposely cut him in his throat and lets him drown in his own blood? What if she does not show up at all and then have another doctor come around to prolong his condition further?  
>"If you don't want to do this Beyond..." the elder mumbled, his voice reflecting the pain he was in.<br>"You don't have to... We will find another way..."

The wild eyed boy felt his gaze darken.  
>"We've tried everything Lawli... This biopsy may be the only thing left to do... if there are no answers from this... there are no answers at all and I'll just go back to accepting that this is the way I'll be from now on... I don't want to suffer any more treatments... I am tired of<br>them..."

The future detective looked over to his friend for a moment.  
>"A may know a better way..." he mumbled, "or a way to speed your recovery..."<br>"If she could do that, she may just earn more of my trust. I like A as a sister, but I'm still wary of her, you know?" He opens the door and leads the older raven to his bed to sit down.  
>"I need to get Griffin more mice, I will not be too long I promise." He goes to his rodent jar and takes it before walking to the door.<br>"You'll be OK in here, right?"  
>"Yes..." He lays down and takes a deep breath. Why did Beyond react like that? Where did that violence come from? He had never seen his friend so angry.<p>

The thin wild eyed youth made his way to the outside where he began to hunt for mice and other rodents. In his mind, he was troubled over this new outburst. First it was H, then it was the doctor. To have that sort of power and dominance over them... it was scary, but a stray thought told him that it was OK to have power now and then. He had to stop and wonder where such a thought had come from in the first place. It distracted him from his hunting efforts, making his total caught rodents less than usual. He shuffled back inside to rejoin his friend. Perhaps he would leave this minor thought unsaid for now.

L curled into a ball on his side as he thought. What had gotten into his friend before? Fear? Anger? It was scary... A frightening side to Beyond that he had never seen before. Upon entering and seeing the detective curled into a ball when he walked inside was something that B did not expect to see. Was he in that much pain? Was Lawli scared of him? Would Lawli leave him? He took a mouse from the jar and found Griffin before repeating the all-too familiar action of snapping the neck before tossing it to her to play with and eat. He took a seat on his bed and looked at his friend, worry etched into his features.

"Come here..." the detective mumbled and patted the bed next to him. He wanted to be close to him now he was sore, his head pounding from the combination of pain and the amount of thoughts running through his mind. B didn't budge; guilt, fear and sadness over the event preventing him from moving. He shivered slightly and slid more onto his bed before shaking his head slowly.  
>"Please?" He mumbled, wanting to soothe away some of the pain in his friend's arms. The scarlet eyed boy hesitated for a few moments before shuffling slowly and crawling onto his friend's bed and slowly pulling him into an embrace, but he was still tense, still having his own thoughts running through his mind.<p>

For the first time that they could remember, it was the older raven who curled up with his head in his friends chest for comfort. He nuzzles in close and takes a deep breath. B started to pet the older boy's head, the act itself started to calm him down. He remained silent throughout, enjoying the bonding.

The elder makes a soft, barely audible whine and closes his eyes, gripping his pounding head. It's clear to the other just what's wrong. The soft petting was soothing, but he needed to sleep, something that was unbelievably difficult for the tired eyed boy. B shifts their position so that they are both laying on their sides. He resumes petting and muttering some calming sounds. His other arm is hugging the other close.

The soothing stroking and sounds soon have the future detective on the very edge of sleep. Given a few more minutes he would have been able to, though it was not to be. Just as the darkness started to sink in Watari knocked on the door and let himself in after his discussion with the doctor. The wild eyed boy stops what he is doing at the knocking and his gaze widens slightly at seeing their adoptive father suddenly in their space.  
>"Am I interrupting anything?" The elder male seems just as shocked as the pair, but clears his throat.<br>"I was helping Lawli to rest, but you came in at the wrong time Watari."

It wasn't the first time he had seen them curled up like this and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. After all the elder of his children was the one to soothe the younger all those times he had to have painful tests or spend long nights at the hospital.  
>"Are we in trouble?"<br>"Not at all. I just came to let you know that I've spoken to the doctor. She has informed me that despite the little misunderstanding, the biopsy will continue as scheduled, but she will have someone else come around to perform it in her stead." B frowned and hid behind his friend.  
>"Do not worry yourself Beyond, she understands your predicament and knows that you acted out of fear."<p>

*Fear... And last time anger... He has been provoked into an attack twice now...*  
>"There has to be some way to help him heal faster right Watari?" the elder asked quietly.<br>"I forgot to ask her what the risks were... I know there's not much choice, but if he dies on the table then there's really no point to making him suffer..."  
>"The risk of internal bleeding is high because of his being conscious. If he panics during the procedure, it may cause blood to start filling his lungs. To do this successfully, Beyond should try to remain as calm as possible. There was the mention of discomfort, and I have no doubt that it will be very much so, but remember the training I gave you both about meditation in stressful situations. Apply that and you should have no problems. I will stress that this is very high risk though."<p>

L blinked back a few tears but was unsuccessful at stopping them from falling.  
>"If the risk is so high wouldn't it be better to... to just wait... It hasn't gotten any worse and if I stay with him then if anything happens I'll be there to revive him again..."<br>"Your presence will aid Beyond in calming him down. The doctor had requested your being there. Meditate with him if you must, but I'm afraid the biopsy will be going as planned. I will arrange for something to help you to stay with B longer while he recovers."

The grey eyed raven nods and nuzzles into his friends chest, looking for a comfort he rarely sought out or even needed. He didn't want to lose his friend. B holds his friend close and closes his eyes, not wanting to show the fear he was feeling, though the tense feeling from before only increased.  
>"Isn't there any other way Watari? I don't want any more tests... I don't want to be hurt and to worry Lawli anymore..."<br>"I'm afraid there is nothing more I can do for this time Beyond, but please practice your meditation with L, it will help you both." With that, the elderly male leaves the pair alone, closing the door behind him.

"I'll b-be there Beyond... I... I w-won't let them h-hurt you..." it was a heart felt, but empty promise. They would hurt his friend no matter what L did to prevent it, but the intentions where there.  
>"I know Lawli..." he starts to pet his friend's head and murmur soothing sounds again, not wanting to hear his friend in distress and to lure him back into rest. There would be pain, no matter what happened, surviving it would determine if that day was the his last, though honestly, he accepted that everyday could be his last.<p>

The elder gave a few soft more sobs before he could regain his composure. It would be more then losing his best friend, it would be like losing a part of himself. Even once a mock calm had been reached by the older raven he still couldn't help the silent tears soaking into his friends chest. There had been dangers before, but they where always without warning and his mind would lock on to the idea of helping Beyond get through, this time he had all the time in the world to think about it.

B opened his eyes and looked into wet onyx ones and used a finger to gently wipe away the tears that fell.  
>"If I live through this, it will mean that it's not my time yet. I am still here, so don't worry Lawli. I'm scared and I don't want this, I can admit it, but if it means that I can be healthy again, I can deal with it." He placed an innocent kiss to the top of the older raven's hair and pulled him close before soothing him some more.<br>"I don't want to lose you..." the detective tightened his hands into fists around his friends shirt.  
>"I can't lose everything a-again..."<br>"You won't lose me. I'm not going anywhere. If you go, then I'll follow you. I'm not leaving your side Lawli." He strokes the obsidian locks before rubbing slow circles on the older raven's back.

There was another sob that broke free before the older could stop it.  
>"And... and I'll follow you too... Even if you... you die I won't leave you a-alone..."<br>"I wouldn't have it any other way Lawli..." A sad smile creeps on his features; he settles his head in the crook of the older raven's neck and he closes his eyes again.  
>"Try to get some rest though, ok? I'm not going anywhere..." He reassures the older by holding him closer and continuing to rub his back gently.<p>

Relaxation was slow for the tired future detective. His body had to unwind from the tension the  
>stress of the possibility of losing his best friend put him under. Sleep however was even more elusive. The younger raven did his best to help calm his friend even though inwardly, such a thing was always futile. He knew his friend was worried for him, yet he could do nothing about it. It physically and emotionally showed on his friend the constant worry and stress he was going through. It made him want to have been born with in much better health.<p>

"I love you Beyond..." the future detective whispered innocently, the peace that was slowly taking over the atmosphere showing in his voice. The younger raven returned the sentiment by nuzzling into his friend's neck and breathing softly. He felt sleep take over him slowly and he allowed it to happen, keeping his eyes closed and letting the onyx eyed boy to hear his heart beating steady.

The more his younger friend drifted of and the steadier his breathing and heart beat became, the easier it was for L to rest. Eventually he fell into a light sleep himself. A rarity with the wild eyed boy, he managed to sleep with no dreams to haunt him, instead he welcomed this calm darkness and let himself be lost into it for an undetermined amount of time.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 8

The next week would go by in a blur. Watari allowed them to cut many classes in order to spend time meditating together, or just being with each other in case something did go wrong. A hadn't been around much, after learning of Beyond's predicament; she dove into the books, magazines and her own mind, searching for some way to help Beyond heal faster or to make the procedure less dangerous. She did find a few things, surprisingly that could be used to speed his recovery. One of which was not only of limited risk, but plausible enough to be used. So it was the day before his test that she ran it by the boys and Watari.  
>"See, these two naturally occurring growth hormones can speed up the regeneration of B's lung tissue... And best off all it's risk free... Well... Not risk free... But it won't kill him... Might make him a little off, but he is gonna feel like crap anyway so..."<p>

"What do you mean by 'a little off' A?" B was currently sitting on the floor, having randomly felt like doing so.  
>"I hardly think it would be anything major and it is likely to be short term Beyond," said the elder male, "however, in terms of risks, even small ones could be adverse. What risks are there to these hormones A?"<p>

The blonde smiled and happily pulled out from behind her back one of B's mice that she 'liberated' earlier in the week.  
>"Well I sprayed acid into one of this little guys lungs and today he is fit as a fiddle!" she chirps and bounces him up and down on her hand.<br>"Err... Apart from the fact he has the shakes... Like a furry little maraca! It's cute!"  
>"Are you sure that's not because he is terrified of you?" commented L, who was crouched down next to his friend.<br>"Of course not!" She picked the creature up by the tail and waved it in front of Beyond, the mouse looking horrified.  
>"You're gonna be shaky while they're in your system... Your also going to be very hungry as it burns through reserves quickly! This little guy goes through twice as much food as the others! Other then that he got off scott free... Other side effects he didn't get where minor things like a rash... But it will halve your healing time!"<p>

"That's not enough time to see how long these effects will last seeing that the mouse is still going through the effects as it is. Are you sure that it will work for the whole time I am healing? I don't want to be a buzz kill here A, but I am not entirely confident this will work, even if it does seem that it will." He shifts his position slightly and brings his index finger to his mouth.  
>"I am eager to try it though, no matter the risks, however variant they are..."<p>

The future doctor dropped the rather healthy looking mouse into B's hands before pulling out her photo collection. The first photo showing the extent of the damage done to the lung only three days earlier and the next being of it near dead, but as the photos went up in five hour intervals, the mouse seemed to slowly revive.  
>"My control mouse that I did not give the hormones to died within 8 hours... All of the theory behind this treatment backs me up and these hormones are natural and safe... Long term your body will burn them off within only a few days and they will be out of your system for good!" she chirped.<br>"You can even cut him up and see how well he healed!" At those words the mouse seemed to quiver even more and roll itself into a horrified ball.

B stroked the little creature and cupped his hands over it protectively, making sure A can't get to it again. Watari seemed impressed by her findings and took the photographs for further observation.  
>"This is certainly a remarkable finding A. Though the part of the recovery where one is near death is worrisome. If Beyond can pull through that, then I have confidence that your findings may work towards healing similar lung ailments."<p>

L looked down at the little quivering mouse and then up at his very proud looking sister once more.  
>"You figured this out in a week?"<br>"Well no... Truth be told I was already looking into ways I could help B before all of this... When I heard about the biopsy I decided that I should test the theories I had or I might never get a chance to help the person I'm doing it for!" she admitted.  
>"I had some idea before all this what hormones I could use and in what doses, but I was never sure enough to test them..."<p>

"It seems that your theories and testing worked to your advantage this time A and you should be very proud, however, testing this on a human, Beyond for example, may yield different results. If he pulls through without any problems, then I will allow you to develop this compound into a trial drug. A reminder that further testing is still needed however."  
>B looked at his sister and gave a small creepy smile.<br>"If this does not work A and I lose brain function or die... I know who to blame and/or haunt."

Little shivers ran down the young blonds spine and she looked away.  
>"D-don't say that... You'll jinx me..." she mumbled quietly.<br>"How much of your money did you spend on this A?" the elder raven asked out of curiosity.  
>"All of it and then some... I sold my lunch a few times to get money for the hormones... It cost about 200 pounds just for the raw materials... And I'm going to need more for Beyond, but now I know what I'm doing there will be less waste!"<p>

"You know that you could have asked Watari for funding. He's all about research and developing things. He would have supplied it for you..." He opens his hand and pets the little quivering creature and an overwhelming instinct to snap its neck took over him. He handed the creature over to the older raven before he could act on it.  
>"Beyond is quite right. However, since you now know what it is you are doing, I am more than willing to fund this for you."<br>"Really! Thank you!" the young girl chirped and grinned widely.  
>"I would have been able to run better trials with more money... But I am confident this will work! It would be expensive in its current state, so maybe if this works on B I can find a way to cheapen it up!"<p>

With that she dropped scooped up the tiny mouse right out of the detective's grip and put it down on the piles of research on Watari's desk she brought in ahead of time.  
>"Now I think I deserve a treat! Strawberry jelly anyone!"<br>L who was seemingly in shock from having the little creature snatched from his grip finally looked up at the mention of sugary sweet jelly.

B's eyes lit up instantly at the mentioning of jam, forgetting about the mouse being back in his sister's possession again. Watari smiled kindly and walked to the research material.  
>"Would you mind if I kept this with me for reviewing A? Also, I think that you will get a much better reward if this works on Beyond. I will reserve it for you until after his recovery."<br>B was drooling non-too-subtly by now, but he didn't care.  
>"Sure go ahead... That mouse is going to need somewhere to stay though... He isn't potty trained," the youngest of the three chirped and marched out the door. For her the best reward in this would be if Beyond healed well, then finally he might even take her seriously.<p>

B stood up and took the mouse from the desk and followed A out the door to wherever she had the jelly treat.  
>"Come on Lawli, let's go with A, I won't be able to eat solid foods again after the biopsy, so I'm going to make the most of it now. Bye Watari!" The elder male nodded and smiled before turning his attention to his adopted daughter's material, going through page by page with rapt attention.<p>

The elder raven padded after the excited pair in his usual hunched over posture, getting all the way to the science lab where she opened the fridge to reveal a big blob of red strawberry jelly with whole fruit set inside.  
>"Don't worry I booked the fridge all week so there's only hormones, steroids and mice lungs in here!" she chirped.<br>"Nothing bio-hazardous... Well maybe the lungs... And the steroids... And probably the hormones to... But so long as you don't drink them we're fine!"

"You just contradicted yourself A..." B murmured, "Are you sure this jelly is safe to consume with all this bio-hazardous material in the same space?" Despite the jab, B's attention was on the sweet confection.  
>"Oh it's fine! And it's made in the shape of a dinosaur see?" she chirped and took the plate out, putting it on the desk and watching it jiggle about.<br>"And I stole the strawberries out of the greenhouse, so they're fresh as they can get!"

A spidery finger prodded at the jelly and scarlet eyes became amused at the action as a result of it, prompting him to poke at it two more times before he felt A's hand slap his own.  
>"Ow! What was that for? It's not like your fingers are going to be touching it either A. Lawli would do the same too." To force the point, he grabbed the older raven's finger and used it to prod the confection like he just did. Unfortunately Beyond's plan did not go completely as he thought because as soon as L's finger met the jelly, he used his entire hand to pull off a large blob with an intact berry inside and licked it tentively.<br>"Hey!"

"I suppose I didn't realize that the strawberry was that close to the surface..."  
>"You think?"<br>"Lawli proved that he is in fact worse than the both of us... the damage is done however, so we might as well dig in... literally." He wasted no time and helped himself to a handful and sucked the jelly into his mouth, ignoring the glare A gave the both of them.

L ignored the negative comment and continued to lick at it slowly. He let his tongue swirl around and around the jelly covered fruit in a way others would consider obscene, but it was in fact just how he liked to eat his sweets, and with no spoon he was forced to improvise.  
>"Boys are disgusting!"<p>

B swallowed the jelly that was in his mouth.  
>"There are sinks to clean our hands with. Don't be a spoil sport A, join us." He sucked the remaining jelly off his hand, but to contradict himself, he used the bowl supplied and scooped some of the jelly into the bowl before sucking the confection that way.<p>

It was only then that A produced the spoons and took some for herself, taking note at how lost the older raven was in his enjoyment of the treat. This didn't go unnoticed by the younger raven who stared back at her.  
>"Do you like watching Lawli eat his treats A? It's rather rude to stare..." B sucked more jelly and then nibbled away at the fruit that was sucked into his mouth, humming in contentment.<p>

A shook her head and went back to her own jelly. Honestly watching her brothers eat was sickening. The wild eyed boy eyed A's numbers, they have not changed since the last time he bothered to look at them. They seemed to indicate that she'll be around longer than Lawli, which saddened him internally. He continued to nibble away at the fruit in his mouth before looking to his friend, noting that he was taking his time as usual. He looked back at A and eyed her numbers again and lost himself on them for a short while.

"Stop looking above my head like that. It's creepy!" A mumbled and sucked up the last of the jelly from her spoon.  
>"You will have to make more when Beyond is better..." L spoke out before any conversation could be brought up about his friends eyes and A, being as easily distracted as she was, bought into it.<br>"Of course!"

B had become so focused on her numbers that he'd almost forgotten the save from his friend and seamlessly removed his gaze from the floating numbers.  
>"I don't know what you're talking about A... There was no spider above your head the last time I checked." He loved doing that, it never got old. A yelped and immediately dropped her spoon in favor of rapidly patting her head down to remove any wanna-be spider-assassins.<br>"When you start sprouting hairs all over from these hormones B I'm going to just die laughing!"

"I'll observe the mouse for any abnormal hair growth. If there is none, I will laugh in your face and call you on it." It can be said that before B gained A's trust, there was this love/hate thing that went on between the both of them. It never escalated into violence, but B was certain that it never would.  
>"There is in fact abnormal hair growth. Why do you think it's fur is so long? Even on its feet! It will all fall out once the treatment's over but when your laying there looking like a Werewolf, you should think of me and how much better looking I am then you!" the future detective raised an eyebrow at A and how his little sister always seemed to be able to relate everything to her looks, as if she wouldn't be as smart if she looked any differently. Even as they spoke she was wearing Beyond's stolen jeans.<p>

"Well then..." B mused, "If I do have abnormally long hair, I'll just have to come up with ways to creatively sabotage you for making me hairy in the first place. My revenge is planned before it even started A, you can be sure of that." He bared his teeth and made a growling sound.  
>"It's not my fault growth hormones have side effects!"<br>"Enough..." the detective mumbled in his usual monotone, his sweet treat finally finished.  
>"I'm tired... I have barely slept all week... Care to join me Beyond?"<p>

The younger raven nodded, but helped A with assembling the dirty dishes first before following his friend out of the room. He noted the crowd of other kids walking in the opposite direction and sidled behind the future detective and flipped on his selective hearing, a defense mechanism he learned from years of abuse.

This time however there where only whispers of how the younger raven was going to die soon rather then the usual blunt insults. These words however cut into L a lot deeper then their taunts ever did.  
>"Quiet!" He finally snapped, turning his gaze to meet the other children's defiantly.<br>"You don't know what you speak of!"  
>"Oh, but we do," one of them said, turning around and prompting the others to do the same.<br>"He's too weak as it is. What makes you think he's going to survive the healing, much less the procedure? You better start your last will and testament Beyond." The kids chuckled and proceeded down the hallways, whispering amongst one another. The elder turns and starts back to there room. Tears once again brimming his onyx eyes.  
>*How dare they say those things! It's not true! I won't lose him! I can't!*<p>

Sensing that the danger had passed, B turned off the selective hearing and noted that his friend was distressed. He waited until they were in their room before pulling him into a hug.  
>"Whatever they said is not true Lawli... don't believe them for a minute..."<br>L let out a soft, heart breaking little whine. He was completely helpless and come tomorrow his friend could be gone...

The red eyed boy led the older to his bed and went to change into his night clothes, despite it being a little earlier than usual for him to do so. When he was done, he went back and sat behind the older raven and pulled him into another hug, using his legs to hold him closer.  
>"Whatever happens tomorrow Lawli, know now that I'll never leave you behind. I promise we will still see each other when it's over."<p>

L gave a sad smile, stripping off to hid boxers before laying down on his friends bed. He took the younger raven by the shoulders and pulled him down to lay on top of him.  
>"I'll be right behind you... W-wait for me..."<br>B shifted to get into a comfortable position on the older boy. When one was found, he used his arms to hug the older and settle onto his chest.  
>"Love you Lawli..." he whispered, holding a stray tear from falling.<br>"I love you too Beyond..." he whispered back and wrapped his arms around him, letting his hands lock together around the boys back. He didn't honestly expect to sleep, he was just wanting to be that little bit closer.

Worry and doubt were beginning to cloud B's mind. He was high risk as it was. He just wanted to live past tomorrow and be there for his friend. He knew that if he died, his friend would follow soon behind him. Their bond was so strong that something like that would in fact occur.

"I'll be right there the whole time..." his friend mumbled.  
>"No matter what happens you won't be alone..."<br>B nuzzled his friend's chest and shifted himself to get more comfortable. Before he did that, he pulled up a sheet to cover them both. Once re-adjusted, he holds the raven close and nuzzles his chest some more.

L took a deep breath and closed his eyes. This could really be their last night together and he wasn't going to ruin it by crying the whole time.  
>"You should sleep..." he mumbled wisely.<br>"You need to be well rested for this..."  
>"I know..." was the mumbled reply. B had his eyes half closed while gazing at his friend's chest that was visible to him. Playfully, he poked at a nipple and then tapped on the chest area. He wasn't tired just yet, not wanting to waste another moment with the older.<p>

L jumped slightly at the sudden poke but gave a half smile once he realized what the younger boy was doing. Slowly he ran one hand up to his friends hair and started running his fingers through it as he had done so many times before. B continued to poke random areas of his friend's upper body, putting each area he touched to memory. He was creating a mental map of the older should he become unconscious. Perhaps he could even try to make an effigy of his friend in his mind to protect him until he gets better.

While the younger was memorizing the stone eyed raven L was doing the same thing but for different reasons. He wanted to remember what it was to be with his friend while he was healthy in case this was the last time they could be together like this. Stronger then the fear of Beyond dieing was the fear he would slip into a coma and never wake, the fear that a machine would have to breath for him for months or even years until he lost brain function or his heart gave out. Watari might even turn off life support and let him suffocate to death... He wouldn't leave his friends side, but seeing him that way would destroy him inside.

When he was done, B closed his eyes and nuzzled his friend's chest to try sleep. He didn't want to, but he very well could not go with the procedure feeling tired now, could he? He let out a deep sigh and let his body relax.  
>"Sleep with me Lawli..." he mumbled, cuddling as much into the older raven as he could.<br>"I will try..." The future detective knew it would be impossible. He was under far too much stress to sleep through the night now. B kissed the detective's chest innocently and let the darkness take over him, causing him to shiver in anticipation.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 9

L fought of Beyond's nightmares right from the start. Stroking his hair and rubbing his back, the things that would sometimes calm him when already in the grips of darkness.

This was different from every other night, but it did not mean it did not effect him any more or less than before. He was just surrounded by darkness and endless fog. He looked around his surroundings before hearing deep breathing start up from somewhere near him. He panicked and looked behind him, seeing nothing, but the breathing persisted. He looked around him some more, but unable to see this entity in the fog. It took him a while before he realized that he was the one breathing heavily. Before he could begin to register his surroundings, he was thrust into a nightmare with his old enemy. He shrunk into a ball and closed his eyes and covered his ears, rocking into himself, wanting nothing more than for this nightmare to end.

The future detective couldn't break the nightmare and yet he couldn't wake him. He spent the entire night trying to create some aura of calm for the younger to sleep through what could be his last night.

It was a long night for the younger raven. He sometimes fought his attacker, sometimes let his attacker win, but it was a vicious cycle. He knew it was just a dream, but he was helpless here. He woke up the following morning shuddering violently and whimpering. He clung to the raven like his life depended on it, and considering the circumstances of today, it was not so far fetched.  
>"L-Lawli..." he mumbled, "d-don't leave me today... p-please..."<br>"I won't..."the tired eyed male mumbled and stroked his friends neck softly. "I promise... I'll be with you until its over..."

B didn't want to get up, but routine dictated that he should. After another 3 minutes of holding onto the older, B finally shuffled out of bed and trudged to the bathroom to get showered. There was a lingering aura of dread in the air, but he persisted until the routine was completed, Griffin feeding included. L followed in his routine not far behind and perched himself on his bed waiting for their kitten to finish her food. Beyond was not allowed breakfast this morning so L decided he would also go without rather then making the younger watch him eat.

B nibbled on his index finger as he eyed their cat eat the rodent as he had countless times before. When it was done, he tossed the remains away before standing up and looking to his friend.  
>"Come on..." he mumbled, "let's go..."<br>"Alright." The older raven slowly got to his feet once more and followed his friend to Watari's office. They would be early, but he wanted to ask what his mentor thought of A's medication now that he read her notes.

B knocked on the door when they got to the elder man's room and let himself in, being trailed closely by the older raven.  
>"Beyond and L, what brings you here so early? Your appointment is not for an hour or more."<br>"What are your findings based on A's report?" asked the older raven, scratching a leg with a toe. There was a short pause before the older male answered.  
>"A's research material is a little amateur, but incredibly detailed and well documented. I believe that her solution, side effects aside, will work on B to bring him into full recovery a lot sooner than usual."<p>

The elder looked to his friend and then back at Watari.  
>"You really think she has found something then?" he mumbled, putting a thumb to his lip in thought.<br>"And her treatment, she mentioned it would be through IV, but not much else..."  
>"There is a strong possibility that Beyond will make a full recovery. My only concern is the gap where there is a high chance that B might actually die for a short time before his system restarts itself. We will have a defibrillator available when it gets to that point to jump-start his heart again."<p>

B visibly flinched at that and held onto his friend and began to shake. L pulled his friend in close and let him bury his face into his chest.  
>"I want to be there, I will not leave him for any reason. That is the condition of his co-operation... Right Beyond?" Somehow the elder seemed to read the younger's mind sometimes.<br>"We will not back down from this position and should anyone at any point attempt to remove me our co-operation will come to an end."  
>"D-don't let Lawli leave... I-I can't do it without him. If he goes... I go, and vice versa..." He gripped onto the white shirt tightly.<p>

The older male sighed and nodded slowly.  
>"I understand and your situation has been explained to the doctors and nurses."<br>B gulped heavily and held onto his friend's shirt, feeling the beginnings of panic rise in his breathing. He calmed himself down and began to mentally prepare himself for the procedure that would be occurring soon. He was still preparing himself when the doctor attending for the biopsy showed up, making him wince.

"It's going to be alright Beyond..." the detective mumbled and held him tightly, looking up at the doctor with searching eyes. This was a younger doctor than the woman, but she seemed to know many things for her age. At that moment though, she felt like she was being dissected by twins with their equally stony gazes, one more so.  
>"I just have some protocol material that needs to be dealt with before we can begin."<br>"It will be alright Beyond..." the elder mumbled and let go of his friend, nudging him towards the doctor.

The wild eyed boy took two shaky steps towards the doctor then stopped altogether. The young doctor removed a few forms from her shoulder bag and handed them to the elder male.  
>"These are Permission forms, and insurance policies for his benefit should there be a complication during or after the procedure. It just covers any costs so that you are not covering them yourself. I will ask that you leave these unfilled unless you have to fill them." Watari nods slowly, but signs the permission form to give consent to the biopsy procedure. B started to shiver again.<p>

"I'm right here..." the older of the pair reminds his friend with a firm grip on his shoulder. The young doctor removes some medical tools from her bag including the probe with cutting tool attachment, a numbing solution and some surgical tools in case of emergency.  
>"I just need you to relax as much as possible B. I will administer the numbing solution right away before I insert the tube."<br>"Remember your meditation Beyond. If you practiced long enough, this should help you immensely."

The younger raven nods and closes his eyes and takes deep, calming breaths that were shaky at first before they gradually evened out. He did not flinch when the needle was injected into his neck area and stayed calm when his mouth was opened to allow the probe inside. Seeing his friend shaking, he takes his hand, giving it a tight squeeze to relax him.  
>"It will all be over soon..."<p>

B gagged when the probe started going down his throat and almost broke his concentration when he felt panic beginning to rise, but he toughed it out and focused on his meditation efforts to lessen the pain his throat was protesting with. The doctor looked on the miniature screen in front of her and angled the probe accordingly, seeing the younger boy tensing repeatedly.

L slowly stroked his thumb over the back of his young friends hands in time with his breathing, which was getting more uncomfortable and difficult. After a long moment he chanced a look at the screen, seeing the large, swollen lumps of tissue clustered inside his lungs.  
>*Is that what's causing him to be so ill?*<p>

The doctor made a noise in her throat that indicated concern.  
>"These growths are larger than anticipated, but I think that I can remove one of them without any problems." She began to press forward the extraction tool and picked out the smallest one and began to work on removing it. B reacted by shuddering and making a loud whimpering sound. It was painful to him and he made it known.<p>

"Shh... I know... Relax..." the older raven whispered soothingly, running long spidery fingers through his friends thick dark hair. B's breathing hitched slightly as he tried to control himself, focusing on meditating that was getting increasingly difficult now that the procedure was nearing completion. The growth bled out, but thankfully it was not severe thanks to the control and precision she had. Slowly, she started to extract the growth, relying on her skill and B's control to get the fleshy globe removed.

B fought back tears and gripped his friend's hand tightly, whimpering more now.  
>"Almost over..." L once again assures his friend, slowing down the rate he was stroking his hair. He looked up at the doctor who was concentrating hard on taking out the mass.<br>"Just a little longer..."

*It hurts really bad Lawli! I want it to end! Take the pain away!* B's throat clenched to swallow, pulling the probe with it and causing more pain. He cried and leaned his head forward, his gag reflex beginning to work again and irritating his throat further.

L held his friend back to try and stop the young raven from hurting himself.  
>"You have your sample, get that thing out," L ordered the doctor bluntly.<br>"The extraction takes time. I cannot lose my hold I have on it. It is easier to do on an unconscious patient." As she spoke, she continued to extract the mass slowly, fighting B's conflicting instinct to swallow and throw up at the same time. Tears were falling freely now and his near vice-like grip on the older raven's hand had tightened even more.  
>*Take it away Lawli! Take it away! Please!* The pain was getting overwhelming for him, causing him to shudder violently, threatening to collapse.<p>

"Alright... Calm down... Shh..." L slowly pulled B onto his lap and held him firmly in place so he couldn't do any further damage to himself. Bile rose from his stomach. The doctor frowned, knowing that it could compromise the mass.  
>"You need to control yourself a little longer B, we are almost done." B made a gurgling sound in response and shuddered violently again, going limp in the older's arms; it got too much for him and he blacked out.<p>

The future detective repressed the panic that suddenly threatened to take over him, keeping calm for his friend was the important thing now. The young doctor wasted no time and worked faster to remove the probe, the process was a lot smoother this time. She had a container all ready and once the mass was removed, she put it inside and sealed the lid.  
>"I need to remove just one more and seal the wounds before I am done here." Despite the look of concern, she re-inserted the probe, working at a much faster pace than when B was awake.<p>

L kept to his word and held his friend close the entire time, keeping him safe in his arms.  
>"You should start the IV of the lung medication now..." he mumbled slowly, praying his friend doesn't die in his arms. A second mass was extracted before the young doctor removed a medical burning tool.<br>"As soon as I've burned sealed the wounds, then I will administer the IV drip." She inserted the tool and didn't activate it until she'd reached the areas where the masses were extracted. She turned on the machine and methodically sealed the wounds carefully. Satisfied that the wounds would not re-open anytime soon, she turned off the tool and removed it with the small camera. She finally prepped B's hand for the IV drip and soon had it inside.  
>"It would be wise at this point to have him placed in a sterile environment until his wounds heal."<p>

"You set up a room for him didn't you Watari?" the future detective mumbled, watching the strange color fluid make its way into his friends body. The elderly male nodded before standing up and taking the younger raven into his arms and motioning for the older to follow him.  
>"I will return in a little while doctor, don't go anywhere right now." The young doctor nodded before looking at the masses she collected more closely. Watari carried the younger in his arms down several hallways, walking by several of the bystanders who stopped to look at the limp body he carried.<p>

L ignored their whispers and kept his eyes and his mind on his friend, pulling a hair band out of his pocket and tying back his hair in a rough pony tail. He didn't want to shed any of it in Beyond's sterilized room.

They entered an ICU ward in the hospital wing of the building and walked into a room attached to the room where a hospital bed was prepped with a hook to hold the IV drip that was feeding into the younger raven. Watari motioned for the older raven to move the covers so that he could settle the younger boy's body into the bed and set the drip onto the hook. He removes two face masks and wears one before handing the other one to his oldest son.  
>"You may stay in here with him for now. I'll return later and set up the heart monitor with the doctor who will be monitoring him."<p>

"What if something happens?" the older raven asked, his voice disguising internal distress.  
>"He should be alright. I will not be gone long. There is a remote that you can use if anything happens to him while I am gone. It will notify the nearest medical personnel. I will return shortly L." He gives the older raven's shoulder a comforting squeeze before taking his temporary leave. L perched himself next to the bed of his friend in his usual way, taking up the boys hand in both of his and clasping it firmly. He would sit like this as long as it took, the blood eyed ravens silent guardian.<p>

Though his body was not showing it, B was terrified. He was in a nightmare with the Grey Man invading another time lapse dream. This was off though as he had in his hand what appeared to be a parasitic creature that wriggled and twitched in his hand. He'd pulled it from his ear and grinned in a freakish way. B had been frozen in place by the Grey Man's powers over him. He could not even cry out to wake himself up. He was helpless to the Grey Man's whim. He let out a silent scream as the parasitic creature was inserted into his own ear, feeling it force its way into his brain, into his mind.

There was no way for L to know the horrors his friends mind where throwing on him so all he could do was hold Bs hand and hope he would wake soon.

After this was done, Grey Man took over his young body, the younger raven was unable to fight back. He was being fed images and thoughts, a gradual brainwashing that would only serve to awaken his darker side. It would remain this way for the duration of the healing process.

The hours would crawl by for the young panda, he remained sleepless and would continue to refuse the natural urge to rest until his friend was well again.

It would be the 4th day into his healing process that the inevitable happened. The attending doctor was monitoring B with L nearby when he flat-lined. The attending doctor had been made aware of this side effect and called in another doctor to fetch the defibrillator to jump start his heart.

It had been so sudden that L wasn't sure what really happened. His friend's condition had been seen to be deteriorating during the night, but nothing in his mind had prepared him for this. L leaned down and pushed a breath into his friends unresponsive body to attempt to buy him a little time for the doctor to arrive. It was heart breaking as he repeated the action of putting his lips to the other ravens and breathing deeply into him, trying to get injured lungs to expand.

When the doctor still hadn't arrived the older raven crawled up onto the bed to straddle his friend, putting both hands down in the middle of his bare chest and starting rough compressions.  
>"Beyond... Come back... Please..."<br>"Where is my defibrillator? Get it in here immediately!" There was a slamming noise as the phone line was cut. The attending doctor took note of what L was doing before rushing outside to speed the retrieval process.  
>"P-please..."<p>

By now the older raven was in tears. Beyond was looked so helpless with his near transparent skin and dark bags under his eyes from being so sick. He didn't respond to his friends efforts at all, laying there lifelessly beneath him. L couldn't help but notice how B's body jerked from the force of the compressions and how the bile rose in the ravens throat while L was breathing into him. Little things like that where tearing at the future detective, he was hurting his friend even as he tried to bring him back.

Six minutes had passed before the attending doctor and an assistant arrived with the machine. L was ushered non-too-gently from his friend's form while the attending doctor took over the compressions while the attendant prepared the machine.  
>"Hurry it up, will you? We haven't got all day! This boy's life is at serious risk!" There was a check of the airway before the bile was seen. The doctor grabbed the vacuum tool and inserted it into the throat, sucking out the acidic fluid to prevent further damage. With an affirming sound, the defibrillator was at last available to use. They prepared his young frame, using a lubricating substance to lessen the impact and save his skin from burning.<p>

L backed off slightly, but never removed his eyed from his friends helpless body. As far as he knew Beyond might not even be in there anymore if the doctors took too long, his brain had been damaged or perhaps his heart is to weak to restart now? It didn't matter, if his friend were to die then he would follow him.

The paddles were set above his heart and lungs and the first charge was ready.  
>"Clear!" The first jolt went through B's body, making the heart monitor move once before it flat-lined again. Compressions resumed while the paddles were charged again, told to keep a certain voltage as anything higher would kill him for good. The paddles were set again on the younger raven's chest where a second charge was released, the result of it the same as the first.<br>"Come on Beyond, you can make it. You're stronger than this..."

L crept up next to his friend and stroked a stray hair from his face while the machine was charging.  
>"I'll... Be right b-behind you..." he whispered into his ear and gave it a soft kiss before the charge was set again and he had to move back.<p>

"Clear!" The final charge was sent through, but there was no response to the machine. The two doctors looked forlorn and stepped away from the young boy's body. They could only hope that something happened soon or else they would have to call the time of death and report it to Watari.  
>"D-don't stop..." the future detective pleaded, his eyes wide and hopeless.<br>"Please... O-one more... I'll... I'll do anything..." the young L nuzzled into his friends neck and gave it a soft kiss.  
>"Please..."<p>

Seeing his distress, the assistant doctor looked to the attending and gave a questioning look. There was a brief pause before a nod was given. The paddles were beginning to charge anew as the doctor resumed chest compressions.  
>"This has to work, or else it's too late for him, I'm afraid..." The paddles were charged once more and set on the young raven's chest with an order for L to back off.<br>"Clear!" The last charge they would give B was sent through. At first there was no response, but a barely detectable blip was seen on the heart monitor. It remained weak, but gradually they became more noticeable.

The grey eyed males expression brightened for a moment and he quickly got back to his friends side, noticing that he still refused to take a breath.  
>"Beyond..." L pleaded with him for a moment before leaning over and starting mouth to mouth again, willing his friend to try and breath on his own. B's body remained unmoving, too weak to breath on its own. In his mind, he continued to suffer the brainwashing that the Grey Man was feeding him, angering him, torturing him...<p>

"Come on..." L whispered to his friend in between breaths.  
>"Please... Don't do this... Breathe..."<br>"Fetch the respirator, he's not breathing on his own." The assistant nodded and jogged outside. "You're doing great there L, but perhaps it would be best if you let me take over for now."  
>"No..." the young raven refused and pushed another breath into him slowly, watching his chest rise.<br>"He is... he is my responsibility..."

"I understand, but right now, he is in my care and should be attended to by me." The attending doctor takes a step forward and places a hand to the older raven's shoulder.  
>"I know you are worried for him, but he's going to be needing a support that you cannot give him at this time."<br>L put his head up to look at her for a moment.  
>"You get the respirator and I'll deal w-with this..." There where tears in his eyes but also determination, he wasn't going to let his friend go.<p>

The doctor nodded in understanding before leaving the ravens alone to help fetch the respirator from the operating room. The stone eyed raven quickly but carefully went back to his job of helping the younger breath. Mentally, he was keeping track of the boys oxygen levels, making sure he was doing a sufficient job to keep his young friend alive.

B's mind snapped at last, forever altered due to the mental parasite in his mind. He fixed his eyes to the Grey Man and gave a twisted smirk. He was released from his confines and left in his time lapse universe to wait to be woken again. His eyes were serious and he was patient.

L's eyes widened suddenly when he felt his friend gasp, attempting to breath again on his own. "Beyond!" He gave a soft smile and assisted his friend with another breath, feeling him once again try to breath.  
>"Thank you... Doctor!"<p>

The attending doctor was already pulling the respirator down the hallway when the future detective called out. The respirator was abandoned to see what the issue was.  
>"What's wrong?"<br>"He's trying to breath..." L mumbled, helping him one last time before a gurgling groan could be heard and the boy took a shuddering breath.  
>"This is great! Rub his chest to stimulate his lungs some more, but don't be too rough as it may make him stop altogether. I will bring in the respirator regardless as I cannot be certain how he will fare in the next few hours."<p>

The future detective nodded and slowly stated to rub his friends chest. He had done this a few times before when Beyond was sick but never when he was this close to death.  
>"Keep fighting Beyond..." the raven whispered into his ear, giving him a tender and encouraging kiss on the forehead.<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 10

Waking from the haze was a slow and difficult process for the scarlet eyed raven. He could feel himself struggling, but it was like he was watching himself from outside his body. It was a curious thing. He could feel the lung stimulation and the clouds between the dream world and reality splitting apart little by little.

L kept up his gentle massage, taking care to be just forceful enough for it to encourage breathing yet not so much so that it would hurt or stop his lungs working all together.

The wild eyed boy gave a stronger, but still shuddering breath that was followed by a light wheeze. *Law... li... Where... are... you...?*

Ignoring everyone around him the older pulled himself up to lay in the bed next to his friend. It seemed pointless to keep his distance or wear a mask now he had breathed directly into the boys damaged lungs. The dark eyed raven nuzzled into his neck, putting one leg over the boys and curling up close. He never stopped his massage, but he wanted to be ever closer.

Time flowed differently between realities, and when 3 hours had passed, it felt like 10 minutes had passed in the reality B was in, the ever growing gap was enough that he could attempt to communicate vocally. He took the opportunity right away, calling loudly into the gap. In reality, B managed a very faint whimpering sound.

"Hey..." L replied to the little whimper by softly nuzzling the boys neck. He never once stopped trying to stimulate the boys lungs even once his breathing started to become more regular. B responded with another soft whimper, subtly shifting in the older's grip. *Lawli... Y-you didn't leave my side... thank you...*  
>"It's okay..." the older whispered back, assuming the soft whines where of pain.<br>"I've got you..."

It continued into the evening and nightfall, the slow recovery process was starting to show positive signs health-wise for B. His shaky breaths were accompanied by increasingly desperate whimpers and when he could, whines.

"Shhh..." it was yet another sleepless night, making it the fifth in a row for L. The lack of food water and sleep where finally getting to him and he was showing signs of getting sick himself. Still he wouldn't leave Beyond's side.

The doctor never left the boys' side, staying on the opposite end and checking on the younger's vitals every 20 minutes for changes. There was a tray with food that Watari had brought, but it was ignored in favor of his friend. The doctor had tried to encourage him to eat, but was met with ignorance or resistance.  
>B shifted and whimpered when he did so. His face slowly turned into a frown to indicate his discomfort and shifted again to remove it.<p>

"Shh..." he tried to calm his friend again, moving a hand from his chest for the first time to stroke his cheek. He gave a faint smile when his friend relaxed again and contented himself with watching his friend oxygen mask fog with each little breath. B relaxed and drifted into sleep. It was no use trying to wake himself he'd decided. He would contend himself to wake when enough time had passed. He was grateful that his Lawli didn't quit on him.

It was midday the next day when Beyond showed signs of waking. L however was starting to show signs of what could be a very rapid decline in health. His body shook almost as badly as B's now did from the medication and he could barely keep his eyes open. He was no longer hungry either, or tired, the ravens body being put into overdrive.

The wild eyed boy slowly frowned before some tears freed themselves. There was a hitching in breath before the whimpers started and gradually increasing with the lingering pain and turning the whimpers into soft sobs.

"I'm here..." the elder mumbled weakly, unable to open his eyes now he was so exhausted.  
>"Shh..."<br>"L-Law... li...?" It was barely a whisper, but it freed more tears and sobs from his young body.  
>"L-La... wl... i..."<br>"It's me..." he whispered, warm breath ghosting over the younger's ear.  
>"You're alright... I've got you..."<p>

B wanted to move to cuddle him and hold him, but his body was not doing what his mind wanted. He whimpered and squirmed a little, trying desperately to convey what he wanted, but his clouded mind was still stopping him from doing much else beyond softly sobbing and whimpering as he slowly became coherent again.

L seemed to understand what his friend wanted and help him close.  
>"Stay calm..." he whispered and ran his fingers through the other boys hair once more.<br>"L-law... li... d-do... n't l-lea... ve m-me..." He weakly moved his hand and found a fingertip and held onto that just as weakly. He was determined to wake up and hold his friend close again.

L slid his hand into his friends and held on tightly.  
>"Never..." he whispered back but soon found it impossible to stay awake any longer and fell into the darkness himself. Scarlet eyes opened halfway and blearily focused on closed onyx ones. Tears continued to fall and he didn't stop sobbing softly. He weakly gripped the older raven's hand harder and let red orbs close again, losing himself to sleep once more.<p>

L would sleep for as long as his friend did then. The exhaustion had finally taken its toll on his body. A red tinted room greeted the younger raven some unknown hours (or was it minutes?) later. His throat was still sore, so he didn't chance speaking unless he really had to. He tested his limbs, finding that they were still weak, but not so much that he was rendered entirely helpless. He looked down to see an arm and a leg curled around him and shifted his gaze to see those same eyes still closed. He smiled weakly and rotated himself with some effort and time until they were on their sides and facing one another. He let out a sigh and just stared at every detail the older had with complete adoration and relief.

L wasn't comfortable in sleep, he was restless from the hunger and thirst and his stomach protested loudly about being ignored. Even so there was a calm about him, happy to be there for his friend when he was most needed even if he couldn't stay awake any longer.

When he was satisfied that who he saw was who he wanted to see, B shifted closer slowly and buried his head into the crook of the older's neck, placing very tender and heartfelt kisses there. Each one was accompanied by soundless 'thank you's'. He moved an arm to complete the hug the older raven had on him, still kissing his neck innocently and lovingly. The elder shivered at the touch even in his sleep and gave a soft hum, unconsciously pulling the boy closer.

B felt the heartbeat of the future detective increase only slightly when he was pulled closer and stopped, unsure of what caused the increase in heart rate. It only occurred then that his own heart rate had increased slightly with the closer contact. His face was still buried in the older's neck, but he had stopped kissing the older raven there, trying to determine the reason for this feeling.

Slowly the elder opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust to the light before realizing his friend had moved to cuddle him back.  
>"Beyond?" he whispered, testing to see if the other was awake and aware. The younger raven responded with a kiss to the neck and a nuzzle. He didn't want to leave their positions right away, feeling a little exhausted from just hugging the future detective back. A smile crept on the young L's face and he gave a content sigh. He was awake again at least and even that was something.<p>

B decided to try an experiment on his friend. What if it was the act of kissing his friend's neck that caused the increase in heart rate? If so, why did it happen? Why did it have an equal effect to him if that is the case? He smiled and closed his eyes, gently kissing the neck area again with the same tenderness from before, feeling his own heartbeat increase slightly. The future detective shivered and made a soft moaning noise he wasn't even sure came out. It felt good and that's all that made sense.

B stopped again, the sound the older made sending strange tingling sensations down his spine. It was enough for him to discontinue. The heart rate certainly increased, but why? B spoke, but it came out raspy.  
>"Law... li... He... llo..."<br>"I... I thought I lost you..." the older breathed and held him close.  
>"I... I did lose you... For a few moments... I..."<p>

The wild eyed youth frowned, feeling his friend's pain, making him nuzzle his neck again as if to say 'I'm still here Lawli. I never left you. You are safe.' He breathed softly onto the soft neck skin and weakly pulled the older raven closer before kissing his neck again, though it was not to experiment on him, it was more for reassurance to the older that he was not going anywhere. He used the same unwavering tenderness, stopping to nuzzle at random intervals.

The elder calmed himself before the sadness drew him to far in, becoming lost in his friends soft touch.  
>"I love you..." he whispered and held on tightly. Red orbs opened half way and he mouthed a soundless 'I love you too Lawli..." before resuming the tender kisses. He looked to see A standing at the doorway, but thought nothing of it; his friend's happiness was the only thing on his mind. He closed his eyes and resumed kissing the sensitive skin.<p>

Another soft moan escaped without L even knowing it. The feeling was sending little bolts of pleasure all around his body without him really understanding why.

When B opened his eyes a little while later, A was no longer at the doorway, or in the room for that matter. Again, he thought nothing of it and continued to place tender kisses, losing himself in the act, finding it strangely calming. He decided he didn't want to stop kissing there and didn't, only using his other senses to determine when he should stop, if at all.

It was then that Watari entered the room to catch Beyond performing what he considered to be a strange act. He cleared his throat to get his young son's attention. Red eyes opened halfway to see his adoptive father looking at him with an uncomfortable expression, right behind him was A who had at last popped in. He stopped kissing L's neck and nudged him gently.

"Watari." the detective breathed, still buzzing with the sensation of the others touch.  
>"Have you come to see Beyond?"<br>The elderly male cleared his throat again, trying to make sense of the sight before him.  
>"Yes... I am glad to see that not only is he coherent and with motor functioning skills, but his overall health seems to have improved. I have with me the test results of the biopsy if you are interested..."<br>B looked at his obviously uncomfortable adoptive father and trying to fit puzzle pieces that did not exist in his interpretations.

L didn't understand why his adopted father was behaving that way either, but knew it was pointless to ask. In Watari's mind, not telling them would mean the actions remained innocent where as if he told them they may evolve into something less so.  
>"Well, what is it Watari?"<br>"It would appear that these growths in your lungs are not cancerous, but they could become a problem in the future if they are allowed to grow or multiply. I have ordered medication for you that should target them and shrink them to allow your lungs to be less burdened. It will arrive in another week. You two must be starved though, would you like me to bring in some food for you?"

L shook his head slowly despite his roaring gut. He felt sick and didn't want to eat even if not eating was the reason he was sick in the first place.

A red eyed gaze shifted horizontally, B wasn't going to eat if L wasn't, remembering that the future detective did the same for him before the procedure. His stomach protested as badly, but he was adamant.  
>"Is… at… all… Watari?" he asked with a raspy voice, looking at A slightly suspiciously, but far less than he normally would. She'd helped to save him and he was grateful for that.<br>The elder male nodded and took his leave, not wanting to leave the pair alone now that it seemed there was curiosity, though they had no idea that it was as such.  
>"Wait..." the future detective called out after a moment.<br>"Just... Bring me whatever you bring Beyond..." he would eat soup if it meant his hungry friend would eat as well.

The elder male seemed to brighten up at hearing that. Tomato soup would have to do for the time being. He picked up his pace a little bit.  
>B looked to A who turned her attention to their father and back.<br>"Thank… you A… for yo…r me…dicine... It… really… does… work..." He coughed lightly and shuddered briefly from the slight pain he felt.  
>"Yeah..." she seemed quieter, calmer then usual. L couldn't put his finger on the change nor could he figure out if it was permanent, but there was something different about A now that hadn't been there before.<br>"I'm glad to see your feeling better B... Don't get your IV line tangled..." she warned, pointing out the fact that the arm around L still had the needle and line hooked up to it.

B tested his strength and was able to move it back into a safe area. His chin still rested on the older raven's chest and his soft breaths made contact with the skin made more sensitive from his kisses.  
>B sensed the same thing also, but unlike the older, he acted on it.<br>"Is there… so…mething…. wrong, A?"  
>"No..." she replied, the spark in her voice was still there but it was somehow softer. This only served to confuse the two ravens more.<br>"Well, I'll let you rest... Hope you feel better soon B..."

"Th…ank you… so… much A... you… h…ave my utm…ost gra…ti…tude..." He settled his nose back into familiar territory and nuzzled his friend's neck, letting his eyes close.  
>"You're welcome." with that she gave them a little smile and wandered out of the room.<br>"There's something different about her..." he mumbled.  
>"She holds herself differently..."<p>

B nodded in agreement, not wanting to talk much at this time. His stomach growled loudly, his body reminding him that he had to eat something soon. He groaned, but knew food was on the way.  
>Not disappointed, Watari showed up, albeit cautiously and wheeled in two bowls of tomato soup.<br>"This will be the only thing on your diet Beyond until I can upgrade you to something more solid." B nodded, but did not open his eyes, liking the inner bubble he created.  
>"I will return in a half hour. L, would you mind feeding Beyond as it seems his strength is not quite to its optimal level."<p>

"Alright..." the detective mumbled and slowly sat up in the bed, pulling his friend up with him and moving him so he was sitting with his back to L's chest. Slowly he took the spoon from the tray and filled it with soup, bringing it to his own lips to test to make sure it wasn't too hot before feeding it to his friend.

The scarlet eyed raven took a hesitant sip and let the soup swish in his mouth before swallowing it, making a disgusted face. whatever this was, it was not something he would enjoy. He gave a slight nod for the older to feed him more soup, but wincing all the same.  
>"Sorry..." He knew his friend wouldn't like what he had to feed him, but it would make him feel a lot better to have something in his stomach so he would continue anyway.<p>

It would be a slow, somewhat messy experience, but B managed to eat most of the soup before deciding he did not want anymore, refusing a spoonful from the older raven outright. The elder gave his friend a soft kiss on the cheek and put the spoon down. He slowly helped his friend lay down in the bed before picking up his own bowl and simply pouring it into his mouth, wanting to get the experience over and done with as soon as possible. B sidled and shifted to his side to allow his friend to share the same space with him. He was tired from the entire ordeal and wanted nothing more to sleep. He yawned softly and closed his eyes.

As soon as he was done filling his stomach with the thick, red soup he slid down into bed next to his friend and pushed the table away with his feet. Even after all that sleep L was still tired. The younger raven opened an eye and reached out with his hand that did not have a needle in it to weakly pull the future detective closer to him, wanting to cuddle and be close. L put his head on the ravens shoulder and slid one arm under hid friends head, the other around his body comfortably. If he wanted to be held then he would hold him.

"Love you… Lawli..." he whispered softly into the older's ear, nuzzling the older's neck and letting himself drift off.  
>"Rest well..." his friend whispered and stroked his side lovingly.<p>

The moment he'd entered the dream world, it was as if a switch had been flipped, altering his persona, existing as a darker version of himself. He perched himself next to his former tormentor, a crooked grin taking over his features. His backside was petted slowly, but B made to attempt to fight back, convinced now that this sort of thing was considered 'good'. He leaned into the Grey Man's touch and let him have his way.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 11

Time passed slowly for L as his young friend recovered, he couldn't bring himself to leave his friends side for any longer then what it took for him to go to the bathroom and have a short shower. It was in this time that Beyond was with Watari, it was the only way that the future detective could be convinced to leave at all.

B was crouched in his own crouch and was facing his father and feeling oddly alone and exposed to an uncomfortable degree. He'd spent all his time with the future detective that having the bubble he was in burst making this otherwise normal meeting with his father strained.  
>The older male seemed to sense this, but he had to answer questions about his health before introducing the new drug that came in for him.<br>"How have things been going for you in this past week my son?" B stayed silent for a short while before speaking up.  
>"I'm feeling a lot better Watari... thanks for asking..."<br>"Have you been having any complications with your breathing, minor or otherwise?" B paused for another long moment.  
>"It feels like my chest is a little heavier than usual... and I am coughing a little more..."<br>"Even with your current medication?" The younger raven nodded.  
>"I have good news then. Your new medication just came in yesterday. It is supposed to shrink the growths in your lungs to allow for better breathing. Are you ready to test it? I asked ahead of time regarding existing medicine, but there should be no issues." B hesitated before nodding and standing up to receive his new medication.<p>

L came back after only ten minutes in the hospital bathroom, wrapped in nothing but a towel and boxer shorts. The younger raven had already taken his medication and paused to let it absorb before putting it away. He looked to see his friend and smiled.  
>"Welcome back Lawli..." He shuffled to pull the other into a comforting hug.<p>

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing your clothes." This meant he could use the bathroom in the infirmary wing rather than going all the way to their room in an entirely different part of the orphanage.  
>"I don't mind... Watari... It's been over a week now... How long will I need to stay in here?"<br>"I would recommend another 4 days before I will release you back into the orphanage." The younger huffed before shuffling to the recovery room.  
>"At least you can eat normally now..." the detective mumbled, staying close by in case he was needed.<br>"Perhaps we can watch a movie together?"

"I'd like that Lawli..." He goes to his bed and sits himself down for a moment before laying on his side and closing his eyes.  
>"This is actually better than Roger's booklets... That's saying something..."<br>"Watching movies with me?" the detective mumbled and bit at his thumb, standing hunched over next to the bed.  
>"I hope so...entertainment companies would make little money if their movies where as bad as Rogers idea of home work."<p>

B chuckled lightly in amusement.  
>"No... I mean... being stuck in this hospital wing... It beats out Roger's booklets any day. Your being here makes it all the more better." He let himself rest for a moment before opening his eyes to look at the TV area.<br>"Did you have anything in mind Lawli?"  
>"We have watched all the movies in the shelf now..." The elder mumbled truthfully.<p>

There was a bit of everything in the Wammy's library from 'The Lion King' to 'Star Wars', but at their age most of the movies where off limits and very few of them actually got to the hospital wing, only the ones no one else watches.  
>"There is only a documentary on lions left... Other then that you should pick your favorite..."<br>"I was interested in the Nostradamus prophecies documentary, but it's out of bounds... Other than that, I am up for anything, really... Perhaps the lion documentary will have to serve its purpose as entertainment for the time being. Maybe we should have jam and strawberries with it?"

"I will go get it then." the detective stated.  
>"And perhaps we can apply for permission to watch it while you recover for 'educational purposes'; I am sure Watari will allow it as he accepts most well written requests on the grounds that anyone wanting to read a book or watch a movie enough to write a request deserves to..." he mused and walked out of Beyond's room for a brief moment to fetch the video. He padded slowly back and put it in the machine before paging the nurse.<br>"I'll write the request for you over some strawberries and cream..."

The younger raven nods and pauses the machine while waiting for his friend. He noted something strange. Whenever he looks at his friend's neck area, his heartbeat picks up speed a little. He'd noticed it, but never thought to reflect on it until today. He shrugged off the thought and resumed his waiting.

L asked politely for both their treats and some paper to write out their proposal on before sitting down next to his friend. It looked like a pretty old documentary, which is why it wasn't in the library; either it was unpopular or perhaps outdated. Either way they would watch it. B went to play the tape, hearing David Attenborough's voice narrating not long after it had resumed. He shuffled back and sat next to the older raven in a similar crouch. He sidled next to him and leaned in, mentally cutting out the horrible quality audio and focusing on the rest of the 'action'.

"It's actually not bad..." the future detective mumbled, "the footage anyway..." It wasn't long before their food arrived, a jar of strawberry jam and a bowl of assorted sliced fruit with a huge pile of fresh whipped cream on top.  
>"Agreed..." B turns to eye the jam jar and takes it without a second thought, opening it and digging in two fingers before removing them and sucking away the sweet treat from them, humming in contentment.<p>

L's first victim was a strawberry which was quickly sucked clean of cream before the older raven pulled out the pad and pen and stated his formal request. The younger raven continued his assault on the sweet jam, taking his time and watching the documentary with half-interested attention. He knew many things about lions already from when he took an interest in the animal sciences. However, what used to make him flinch (or was that in his head?) no longer did so. He compared it to Griffin feeding and it was there that he realized that she probably had to eat store bought food, the poor thing.

L looked up at the TV every now and then but most of his attention was on the eating of the fruit and writing his request to get permission to borrow higher rated videos from the library.  
>"What are these videos about?" he mused, wondering if they could use the license to borrow some higher rated criminology videos.<p>

"Roger's idea to ban the vids based on age... They are more thought provoking and more for someone of our level intelligence, age should not matter..." He sucked jam from his fingers and looked to his friend.  
>"They would certainly hold more interest for us both than... this..."<br>"True..." the future detective mumbled, picking up a slice of banana and repeating the process of licking all the cream off it while writing his report.  
>"Though I am sure there is some footage that is not suitable for anyone let alone children in those archives... Watari has some very gory police videos after all..."<p>

"Need I remind you that we've seen our fair share of more of the same being taught by Watari? We can handle such scenery far better than the rest of the students here." He scooped more jam and sucked it off, looking to the fruit bowl before plucking away a grape bunch and adding one with the jam in his mouth.  
>"Yes though not all of the students need access to this... in those cases I agree... A for instance shouldn't have to see ten dead bodies piled on top of each other with there limbs removed... she wishes to be a doctor and such a sight would neither do her any good nor is it necessary as her patients will still be alive, or at least for the most part." L's next victim was a slice of kiwi fruit he happily nibbled at while speaking.<p>

"If she where to simply walk up and pluck that video from the shelf, she would most likely add a scar to her mind she need not have. Not to mention the main TVs are in the shared lounge rooms, unless she where to borrow one over night and many of the students are not only young but have witnessed the deaths of family in only the past few years or even months in some cases... it would upset them... restrictions need to be set, perhaps not on age, but there needs to be some way to monitor and regulate such material for the better of those who would not benefit... perhaps rather then age based perhaps it should be solely request based. you can already make a formal request for a borrowing license for the restricted section, perhaps that should be made known to everyone..."

"And spare the rest of the newcomers and recovering some unnecessary grief. Understandable, and again with notifying others so that anyone who has not ordered the material should remove themselves from the public viewing area until the license holder has completed the material for their purposes." He plucked another grape from the bunch and added more jam before chewing slowly.  
>"Better yet some of the worse material should be viewed in a separate room, any unused classroom would do, with only license holders admitted. It would protect those who still cannot read, and there are many of those, from not understanding the warning signs and wandering in..." he mused.<p>

"It would also mean that the living space wouldn't be taken up, as it so often is, and the other students can continue to watch their programs as normal... there may be one of them in each wing, but one or sometimes all of them are taken up by people who are studying. Of course another alternative is more television and computers made available to borrow over night... Some of the older students with 'jobs' have their own... speaking of which..." There was a slight pause for a moment as the raven went through his knowledge base for a moment.  
>"A may be the youngest student ever to make a discovery worthy of marketing... Or even to have such a 'job'..."<p>

"Indeed, she sped up my recovery by a large margin. I really should thank her properly, perhaps I could carve her a dragon from one of the large leftover stumps. She'd like that for sure. At the same time, she still needs to develop it and try to avoid the side effect where one actually dies for a short time, that would be unpleasant." He paused for a short while, biting on an index finger.  
>"If she does market her find and it is bought by the right pharmaceutical company, she has basically set herself up for a scholarship to an advanced medical college. The funding would help and if she puts it into a trust, not only could she go to college, but set herself up for life. I don't think that would stop her at any rate."<p>

"I am pretty sure that you actually died because the medication was delivered improperly..." the young raven mumbles and bites his thumb in an attempt not to upset himself.  
>"A said when she was told that the person who made the medication on mass for her to use on you didn't follow her exact instructions as she believed that being older meant she knew better and put far to much steroids into the medication... A didn't notice until after that incident and then decided to make the second batch herself... It is even a different color... and after you where given that you improved much faster than anyone expected... I think there is a moral to this story... do not trust outside hands to take you seriously when your an 11 year old genius..."<p>

"No one can take kids seriously, especially children of our superior mental capacity... They are scared of us, we make them nervous. Like you said, people fear what they don't understand, it makes perfect sense... Besides..." B nibbled on a grape, momentarily losing his train of thought.  
>"I don't trust many others as it is, I had my suspicions, but I knew that it would help me out, despite that minor mishap."<br>"You can blame that on those foolish enough to think they know better then A..." he sighed.  
>"You literally overdosed on the steroids because they added too much... A knew better..." L ripped his written formal request off of the pad and handed it to Beyond. It was only a page long but it was all that he needed.<br>"I am going to write a second letter to Watari about possible changes in our library system..." he mumbled, taking a grape for himself to suck on before he started.

"I wonder what this overdose is going to do to my system then? I have a feeling I'll be experiencing something that someone of my physical age should not be experiencing... I think A would know how to counteract that... unless she did while I was still sleeping?" B stood up to turn off the television and remove the film, knowing both their interest in it was no longer there. He sat back down and poured a mouthful of jam and swallowed it in 3 gulps. He looked to his friend with admiration for his being so determined. Not that he wasn't, because he was, just not at this moment.

"She did... I am not sure what she did, but she knew that to give you to counteract the negative ongoing effects of the overdose..." he mumbled, his words slightly muffled by the grape.  
>"And as she pointed out most of your other side effects are gone now you have stopped treatment, the shaking for instance, and I am sure there would have been less side effects had the drug been made properly in the first place... Watari said he was looking into it but hasn't gotten back to me yet... I will ask him when he picks up these notes..."<p>

B had his attention split between reading the note in his hand and his friend's words.  
>"Good thing she knew, otherwise, who knows what sort of condition I'd be in? I doubt that I'd be alive for one thing... Thankfully we've avoided that. It is an important matter to see what the company did wrong. I am eager to hear from him myself." He poured more jam and continued to read, approving of the note in his head before swallowing.<br>"This note should get us the videos that we can view for educational purposes."

The detective nodded and finished the first page of his report on the operating systems of the library.  
>"Would you mind calling Watari then..." he mumbled and gestured towards the pager next to the bed.<br>"I will have this done before he is done explaining the overdose in better light than I can..."  
>B stood from the chair and shuffled to the pager and pressed the one to Watari's room before there was a slightly muffled greeting.<br>"Watari, when you are done in there, we'd like to request your presence in here. There is an important matter regarding an overdose that needs to be resolved. Thank you." He cuts the line and returns to the couch to finish off the jam and digging in a finger to scoop out any stray bits.

L is on the last page of his report and his last piece of fruit when Watari finally entered the room. He took the first note and handed it to him before returning his attentions back to the library's many issues.  
>"We would like to request a license to borrow videos from the restricted section and also, Beyond as questions about what happened to him regarding A's medication... I would also like to know how its development is going?"<p>

The elder male pauses, organizing the questions in his mind and sending the appropriate information to each one. He cleared his throat before taking a seat nearby. He reviewed the note given to him. The younger raven waited patiently.  
>"For the situation regarding the steroid overdose, I have received a reply to my own letter questioning why they did not simply follow A's formula. Their explanation to this mistake was not answered to a satisfactory degree, so I assumed they made changes out of ignorance to A's methods. I am currently waiting on a reply to my own explaining to them the effects the mix they used had on you Beyond."<p>

He paused to clear his throat again.  
>"The overdose did give you more hair growth as A had predicted, and more muscle mass noticeable in the second day in. We grew concerned as the extra muscle would mean more blood and would over work your heart. A brought in some estrogen to counteract the effect of the extra testosterone. Had A not acted, you would have died from heart failure from being over stressed." He filed that answer set away and brought the next one up.<br>"We've sent a formal request to remove the trial drug from the company as well as a withdrawal request from the company itself. As I speak, A is still working on her second trial drug. It is about 60% in its completion. She has planned to have trial runs with the lab mice within the next 2 weeks. As for your request for the license, I trust that the both of you will make good use of them and will not abuse this right to one. I will run it by Roger and have special cards made for both of you."

The elder male finished his second request, tearing of the five sheets of paper and handing them to Watari before turning his attention once again to the many questions he needed an answer to.  
>"A's medication itself is sound though, she should not be punished for their mistakes..." he mumbled and looked to Beyond for a moment.<br>"She will be the youngest to have a 'job' here am I correct? I know 25% of the money will go to the continual running of this orphanage and another 50% into a bank account she will not have access to until she is 18... however... how much is she looking at making from this little venture should it prove successful? It could help a lot of people..."  
>"Yes, her medication was good as it was. It falls on the company who made that mistake. I have notified them that their mistake will have serious consequences. She is currently the youngest, yes. She found a cause to work for and put her knowledge in developing a product to serve that cause. Roger and I are still working out figures to her medication. If you are wanting to know, we should have a proper number by tomorrow afternoon." He folds the notes away in his waist coat before looking to the pair.<br>"I have no doubt that her findings will benefit the health and recovery of many. She has yet to get back to me for her reward though, so I will get back to her on that when she is available next."

"You should... I think she isn't herself..." Beyond nodded at the statement, their sister had been acting strangely since he got sick.  
>"I do not know if she is upset about Beyond's sickness, worried for him or even feeling guilty for the mistakes of the drug company... she could even be stressed about having to do this alone... regardless of the reason she needs something to lift her mood..." The future detective bit at his thumb for a long moment.<br>"Also... can I request that I start work also..." It seemingly came out of nowhere, B being the only one to see it coming. If A where helping to make her brother's life better then L would bring in money to improve the quality of life he had already.

B didn't show the slight pang of... guilt? No, it was not guilt, but something else he did not know the name of. He faked a small smile anyways.  
>"I will certainly see what is being made available at this time. Mind you for your age level, it will be nothing too glamorous, but you are stronger than you appear, your martial arts training is a testament to that."<br>"I already know what I want Watari..." the raven stated bluntly.  
>"I want you to train me to become a detective, I want to be able to move Beyond and I into the bigger rooms, I want a bigger bed and a bathtub so when he is sick he can soak and relax..." and he was determined to get it.<p>

The feeling grew stronger, something inside screaming at him to stop him, but knowing all too well that he was just as adamant as he when it came to decisions.  
>"Criminology is your major, and I will be willing to train you and pay you as you train. It is not an easy path mind you L, but I have a feeling that you will be a great detective, perhaps as great as Coil and Deneuve." Watari's instincts about his adopted children were rarely wrong. He knew that Lawliet could in fact be better than Coil and Deneuve, the two current top detectives in the world.<br>"It is what I want Watari..." L mumbled and looked over at his friend for a long moment.  
>"I want to give Beyond a chance to be happy not in case he doesn't have that opportunity later... And I want to be happy with him..." This would mean more luxuries for them both, a bigger room on the top floor, a TV and computer so it was easier to study, and for him it meant he could drop the classes that where unnecessary.<p>

B stood up and sought jam in the mini fridge and frowning when none was in sight. He walked back and sat next to the older raven and leaned heavily into him, conveying his apprehensions about his decision to be a detective. Something told him it would end badly, but he would not voice it to the older, asked or otherwise.  
>"That sounds like a fair goal. I will train you for as long as necessary and then send in requests for cases to be sent this way."<br>"Thank you Watari." The elder raven smiled, putting one arm around him as if assuring him that he could make the right decision.

B closed his eyes and leaned more into his friend and hid a small frown. The elder stood up and removed the letter from his waistcoat. "I will review this after speaking with Roger on a few matters. Take care until then my boys."

"Goodbye Watari..." the older raven mumbled and pulled his friend closer, waiting until their adoptive father left the room before speaking again.  
>"Looks like we get our restricted section license..."<br>"Yeah.." Mumbled the younger softly, keeping his eyes closed. He leaned into the older raven. The prospect of gaining more restricted material had lost its spark on him. He shifted to get himself comfortable.  
>"You're not interested anymore?" the older mumbled, noting the lack of excitement in his voice.<p>

"I'm just worried for you now Lawli..." Though that was true, it was more wondering if this path he had chosen would ultimately take his life.  
>"I'm in agreement with Watari... it's not easy which means many things can go wrong that you are not ready for, even with training..."<br>"I will not take on more then I can manage you can rest easy..." The onyx eyed raven assured him and looked over to the now empty fruit bowl.

The younger raven shifted so his legs were now hanging from the arm rest and his head lay next to the soon-to-be detective's curled thigh.  
>"Don't let your work get the better of you Lawli... Don't be a slave to it... Promise me this?"<br>"I promise..." the future detective gave a small smile and ran his fingers through his friends hair affectionately. B leaned into the touch and managed a small smile, reaching up with his arms to grab a shoulder to pull the older down so he could return the favor to his friend's hair.

"Are you tired?" the older asked quietly knowing that his friend was still sick and easily warn out.  
>"A little..." he mumbled, still playing with the hair he could reach.<br>"Rest with me on the couch for a little bit?"  
>"Or we could go and rest in the bed," he offered, "then it won't matter if you fall asleep..."<br>"I like it right here though..." The younger countered, opting to let go of the older's hair to cling onto a leg.  
>"It's comfy..."<p>

The elder gave a small smile and nodded slowly, relaxing back into the lounge more. Things where much better now then when he was two sick to even move.  
>"Watari left the security footage of you being revived in the archives, I am sure you can watch it if your curious." And Beyond was always curious, his friend was simply waiting to see if he would ask for the footage himself.<p>

"Not right now... I just want to rest here..." He pulled down the older's legs and used his lap as a pillow and rolled to his side, huffing out a contented sigh before letting his eyes go lidded while he relaxed.  
>"No, we would need to request it anyway..." He knew A had seen it... Was that what upset her?<p>

"Yes... but I'm not ready to see it just yet... I know without looking that you were upset... I don't want to see a sad Lawli at the moment. I want to see a happy Lawli..." He nuzzled the leg his head was on and closed his eyes completely. L smiles slightly.  
>"I'll be happy once your out of this place and back in our room again." As much as he loved spending all this time with his friend, there was no denying there wasn't much to do.<p>

"Agreed..." was the murmured reply, the younger raven letting himself relax more.  
>"I hope that Griffin is being taken care of properly... She needs her mice more than the shit they've probably been giving her..."<br>"Watari has been looking after her and I doubt he has been feeding her mice..." he mumbles.  
>"He was against it in the first place so I doubt he has changed his mind..."<br>"You know my opinion on store bought garbage... The moment we get back, I am feeding her a large mouse... Better make it a rat..." He relaxes more and evens out his breathing, holding a leg and gripping it lightly as he settled more into a sleep state. Slowly, the older reaches down and strokes Beyond's side. Their Griffin was certainly one spoiled cat, even if Beyond didn't think she would survive very long.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 12

When B dreamed, he found himself for the second time in that strange fog filled void, but could not see any reason why it existed there in the first place. He walked forwards for a short distance and determined that this space was vast, too vast for comprehension... he didn't know how he knew, but his mind told him that he would just keep walking into nothingness.

L closed his eyes and continued stroking his friends side, oblivious to the darkness in his friend's mind.

The young raven was not too sure what to make of this situation, but it was oddly calm here, a weird sort of peaceful calm. It was almost homey, but the feeling didn't last, once again tossed out into the realm where his mind flipped and his darker being was allowed to thrive. He created an effigy of the older raven and gazed at it before stroking its side as the older was doing outside. Grey Man appeared and B again gave himself up, not realizing that this act was wrong and shameful.

L had finally drifted off to sleep, having a nightmare of his own about losing his friend. The young raven opened his eyes 3 hours later and rotated himself to look at his sleeping counterpart. He frowned when he saw his face in one of inner suffering and sat up to give him a cuddle, holding him close and petting his head.  
>"It's ok Lawli..."he whispered, petting the older raven's head softly. L gave a soft whimper and unconsciously nuzzled into his friend more, slowly calming.<p>

The wild eyed boy whispered calming words into the older's ear, pulling him closer to nuzzle his neck. Soon the elder calms and falls back into a deep, dreamless sleep. Things would be getting better now he was sure. When the older raven calmed down enough, B kissed his neck gently, liking the calming effect it had on him, though the slightly increased heart rate was still lost on him. He petted his friend while kissing his neck, murmuring more soothing words when his lips were not kissing tenderly and lovingly.

Again the older let out a breathy moan in his sleep, the feeling of warm lips on his neck sending little tingles up and down his spine. Slowly he opened his eyes, dazed by the comfortable feeling. Red eyes focused on onyx ones when they opened and he stopped his attentions and smiled.  
>"I helped you get over your nightmares..." he murmured, nuzzling the older's neck and placing more soft kisses. The elder shivered.<br>"That's a... Good feeling to wake to..." L mumbled innocently, blushing lightly even if he was not sure why.

"I'm glad Lawli..." he murmured, nuzzling more and enjoying the good feelings that came from this act.  
>"I will wake you up like this all the time then, if it makes you feel good..." He smiled and nuzzled more. L closed his eyes again for just a moment in relaxation before opening them again to make eye contact with his friend.<br>"Thank you."  
>"You're welcome..." He smiled and resumed his gentle attentions, having created a bubble in which he was happy to be in at the time.<br>"Anytime you are hurting in your mind, I'll be there Lawli to take the pain away..."  
>"That's why I'd do the same for you..." the elder promised and wrapped his arms around his friend to pull him closer.<p>

B found the detective's pulse point after a moment and wondered what would happen if he kissed there. He acted on his curiosity and focused his gentle lip attacks there; feeling the older raven's heartbeat strong against his chest. L gave another moan, louder this time. There was a soft spot he was hitting and it drove to feelings he didn't understand. He had to wonder what was happening to him and why.

The wild eyed boy was alarmed at the louder sound, but the shivers down his spine told him that it was a good thing. Same as the older, he was feeling a little confused with these sensations, but his curiosity made him continue for a little while longer, or was it something else that drove him to continue? He didn't know, but this good feeling was shared and he didn't want to stop.

Finally the attention was brought to an end by a cackling H who had come to the hospital wing for a band-aid to see them like that.  
>"God I knew you where a pair of homo freaks!"<br>That set off a nerve in the young raven, but if it were not for the weight of the older on him as it was, he was certain he would have been attacking the other, forcing him back into this space again. He stopped his attentions and growled.  
>"I'll put you back into the hospital permanently if you mention one goddamn word about this to anyone! I fucking promise you this H!"<p>

The older froze for a moment in shock of what his friend had said, but left his arms around him, as much to stop him from hurting himself by over doing it as actually not wanting to move.  
>"I'm ready for you this time L's-homo-dog!" he snapped.<br>"Fuck you!" he snapped back, now starting to struggle against the other.  
>"Shh... Don't let him get to you... You're still sick..." L reminded gently, pulling him closer to his chest.<br>"Fuck yourself, oh wait, you can have L do it for you right?" The true meaning of the comment was lost on the elder who was rather socially isolated and unsure of what the crude taunt was implying.

B paused, displaying the same confusion as the older. H was much older than the pair, but he was not in the top 3 for good reason.  
>"Take your idiotic thoughts and ideals and share them with someone who cares, but I promise you that if you breathed this out to anyone, you'll be in so much pain that you'll eat your words!"<p>

"I'll go share my ideas with the rest of my peers then! They are dieing to know if L's dog survived, of course most were rooting for the disease to win!" With that, he marched off to get his band-aid, leaving behind an angry B and a confused L.

The wild raven wanted to hit, wanted to hurt something, more specifically, someone badly right now. He settled for yelling into the older raven's shoulder and trying to fight wave after wave of anger from his person. It made his heartbeat faster, but not in the same way kissing Lawli's neck did.

"Calm down... I don't want you to hurt yourself..." he soothed and slowly started stroking the younger males back.  
>"He knows something that we don't Lawli..." he gasped out, trying to calm down.<br>"He's going to start spreading rumors to everyone in the school... It will never stop..." He closed his eyes and let the older pet him, letting the feeling calm him down.

"It doesn't matter... Only we matter..." he whispered and pulled the boys head in to rest against his chest.  
>"I don't care what they say about us..."<br>"I won't either... I like making you feel good Lawli. I like to see you happy. It makes me feel happy in return..." He nuzzled the older raven's chest and continued to breath, feeling the anger and stress wash away.  
>"Then don't worry about him..." L soothed and took a deep slow breath himself.<br>"He can't touch us..."

*One day... I'll make that into a reality for us Lawli...*  
>B shifted their positions so that he was lounging on the couch with the detective resting on him. He held him close and buried his head into that familiar crook and kept his eyes closed.<br>"Go back to sleep Beyond..." The detective purred.  
>"You must still be tired..."<br>"Grey Man no longer haunts me in my sleep Lawli... but I still see things dying around me... and I'm scared of seeing this night after night..." He shivers a little bit and holds the older closer still.

"I know, but it's just a dream and you know I am here to protect you when you wake again..." He promises and smiles.  
>"But I'm glad he doesn't bother you anymore..."<br>"Now there is this really kind spirit that sends me good energies and tells me that everything is ok and always hugs me... It feels nice to be hugged by it... I feel safe..."

Something about this didn't quite seem right to the future detective and seemed to warrant further investigation.  
>"A kind spirit?" he mumbles, "What does this spirit look like?"<br>"It has no face, but it is humanoid. It's hugs send good feelings. I've only seen its head and arms, they glow in a pretty blue color..."  
>"I am not sure it is so friendly Beyond..." his friend warns seriously.<br>"I wouldn't trust it..."  
>"But it scared Grey Man away for good... The only thing it does is hug me and that's all..." He nuzzled the crook of the neck and huffed out a sigh.<p>

Still there was something about this that bothered L, but without evidence to support his theory that it was wrong he simply couldn't say any more.  
>"Alright..."<br>"It hugs me just like we hug, just like anyone hugs, it's harmless.." He smiled weakly and nuzzled his neck again. Again the tired eyed raven strokes his friends side and closes his eyes in relaxation. His sleep might be done for the day, but he would still be here for his friend no matter what.

B does not sleep, but has a nice nap that lasts for a good 2 hours. It was dreamless, which was extremely rare for him. He smiled weakly and cuddled his friend and nuzzled him while he napped. All L can do is wait for his blood eyed raven to heal. At least they would have their passes to look into the more restricted material.

Red orbs were greeted by onyx ones when he awoke 2 hours later. B smiled tiredly and nuzzled the older raven's neck and placed a single kiss there before resting his head back.  
>"Hello again..." he murmured tiredly, but happy.<br>"It's still night..." the elder pointed out before moving to kiss his friend softly in return.  
>"I don't care..." he murmured in reply, feeling himself blush slightly.<br>"I'm not really tired right now..." He yawned softly and closed his eyes, enjoying the bubble that was created again.

"Alright..." the elder smiled and started stroking his side carefully.  
>"Then what would you like to do?"<br>"I like your neck..." he murmured randomly, shifting to stretch out and yawn again.  
>"But I'll let you decide this time..."<br>"You already know what I want you to do..." L mumbled slowly.  
>"Stay in bed and focus on healing... but I am sure you don't want that..."<p>

"I am well enough to do something else right now, and yes... I would rather do something else, but I will let you decide..."  
>"You did say you wanted to carve A a dragon..." L suggested, "If I got your tools down here and a nice lump of soft wood, you could do that."<br>"Alright..." He smiled and moved the older raven off of him gently before standing and stretching again.  
>"It is still in the middle of the night... will you be fast and silent enough to get to the art room and back without being seen?"<p>

"Perhaps... regardless it will be good practice..." The panda stretched himself out.  
>"I will wait for you then..." He sits back down and closes his eyes, mentally creating a 3-dimensional image of the dragon that he would gift A with, carving away bit by bit and mentally storing each cut so that he could replicate the same thing on the wood.<p>

L nods and quickly shuffles out of the room and down the hall. He would need to get into their art class room which provided two separate challenges. The first of which was being stealthy enough to get there and the second was unlocking the door. Slowly he slipped through the halls, finding the classroom in question and quickly looking for a way inside. Fortunately, their teacher was always losing the key so she hid a spare somewhere.

He looked first in all the obvious places before noting there was a small slip of paper under the door. He reached down and pulled it out carefully to find the key resting on top, having been put there and hidden on the other side of the door. Mentally, he congratulated Miss Clark on her idea which was fool proof, a pity then that L was no fool. He padded into the class room putting all of Beyond's supplies plus a foot ball sized hunk of soft, knot-less wood into a large bag and scuffling out with it, replacing the key as though he had never been there.

When B had finished his mental carving, he decided that it would be satisfactory. Not long after, a familiar figure slipped back inside and he grinned, having also been mentally timing him.  
>"Not too bad, I take it that you found the spare key then?" He walked to the older and took the wood and his tools and returned to the couch. He set the items down before going to the large garbage can and half dragging to the seat before settling himself down again.<p>

"Perhaps she was in the wrong profession as she was quite good at hiding it," he states and sits down on the bed.  
>"It was on a slip of paper under the door..."<br>"Impressive, I would not have thought to look there..." He rotates the wood in his hands, seeking out the place for his first cut.  
>"Have you thought of a design for A yet?" he asked, knowing the blood eyed boy would probably been planning the whole time he was away.<p>

"Of course, I think she'll like it. Good thing it is soft wood, it will cut down the carving time about an hour or 2. Care to watch?" He used his hammer and chisel and marked off several areas and angles. The older nodded and watched closely. He always loved how skilled the other boy was with his hands and eyes. There was creativity there that L did not have and knew he could never obtain.

Beyond began to work quickly and skillfully. He memorized every cut that had to be made and replayed the images from his mind onto the wood, fleshing out the beast from the element. He chipped and chopped with a surgeon's precision, so medical in its accuracy that it was almost hard to imagine that this was art. A neckline and head emerged from the block, rough at first, but having added detail as he used different tools. Satisfied with this first revealed part, he worked the next area.

This continued for 4 and a half hours, the winged beast emerging from the wood as a phoenix from the fire. It was a highly detailed piece when the final bit of sawdust had cleared. He set the piece on the floor to do a final balance check, satisfied that the weight was balanced to prevent it from falling anytime soon. The dragon was perched on a gnarled tree and had its wings furled protectively above it. It's mouth was opened in a silent roar that seemed to indicate that this dragon was defending itself rather than being the offender.

"It's very good..." the detective mumbled upon realizing that Beyond had no further changes to make.  
>"A will love it..."<br>"I know she will..." he murmured, stifling a yawn. That whole process had taken his concentration and it had mentally tired him out.  
>"I am tired again... I think I'll sleep. 3 more days until I get out of here..." He picked up the piece and walked it to the end table and set it there before going to change into night clothes and crawl into the bed. Even though it was early morning now, he didn't care, he just wanted to sleep and get back to normal.<p>

"I'll get this clean and be right with you..." the future detective mumbled, quickly finding the dustpan and broom to sweep up all of the wood shavings, throwing them into the trash. Slowly he crawled back into the bed next to his friend and pulled the covers over them. B hugged him close and nuzzled his chest before relaxing into sleep. The dream state was the same as it had been, but B found that it was getting less terrifying, unless it was of his friend. He was accepting this nightmare as normal and decided that it was for the better.

Again L would stay up to watch over the crimson eyed boy, playing with his thick dark hair to pass the time. B reacted to the soft treatment, leaning into the touch and letting out soft little gasps when certain areas of his skull were touched. It would continue this way for several hours. Now and then a little whimper would escape. L wouldn't even stop when Watari walked in, A followed close behind. Despite doing their best to enter quietly, B stirred from the mere sound of their footsteps. Scarlet orbs opened blearily at the fuzzy figures at the door and instinctively pulled the older raven closer until his vision cleared.

"It's A and Watari..." the future detective mumbled, looking up at A and seeing a familiar shivering mouse sitting on her shoulder. He raised a non-existent eyebrow at the creature, who once the blonde was sitting still enough begun to clean itself furiously.  
>"A and Watari?... What are you doing here?" In his sleep fogged mind, it was unusual to see them here at what he had perceived as a strange hour, forgetting that he'd been sleeping the day away as it was.<br>"I'm just visiting. I met Watari on the way and he was coming to see you to" A mumbled and petted her tiny mouse on the head.  
>"And this is Smudge, my first ever test mouse... I decided to keep him..."<br>When the haze cleared, he remembered his gift.

"A! I made you something... I hope you like it..." He gestured to the completed sculpture on the end table. Watari looked on with admiration, but he had 2 bits of news to share, one good, the other not-so-good. As Beyond had predicted, word got around about the unusual activity that had occurred between L and him. The story had evolved and changed, but the staple was that there was a kiss that was not to innocent shared. He was here to test the rumor's validity.

"Wow! Really?" A picked up the wooden carving and examined it carefully top to bottom.  
>"It's awesome B! what do you think Smudge?" she asked the little mouse who only shivered in response. A had a few of the raven's sculptures, but they where only the ones he had deemed to be duds for one reason or another and would have thrown out if A didn't rescue them.<p>

"Quite impressive Beyond. That is a fine sculpt if I ever saw one." B nodded and weakly smiled.  
>"I gave some good news and some other news... The good ne-"<br>"What's the other news?" B cut off his father, having a hunch as to what it was.  
>"Well... there has been word going around about... a-herm... not-so-innocent contact between you and L." B suppressed the urge to retort, opting instead to cover their tracks.<br>"I don't know who started the rumor, but they were not in here when it started..."

L sighed loudly.  
>"It is not the first time people have started spreading rumors about us Watari..." the future detective mumbled.<br>"I have approached you in order to stop them before..."  
>"I had hoped that my efforts would have worked, but it seems the student body is adamant on continuing to do so. Roger, the staff and I have taken it upon ourselves to to the only thing we can to counteract it and start making sure these rumors are as true or false as they make themselves to be."<br>"We calm each other down, that is all. You of all people should know this... But if that is what the new policy on rumors is... I would expect to see you or the others more often..." He huffed out another sigh and fought back the urge to yawn and stretch.

"If that's all done and over with, I'd like to move onto the good news."  
>"What is it?" B asked dully.<br>"I pulled some strings and managed to get you both a slightly larger room on the next floor up. There is no bathroom in it, but it is a more comfortable space for your studies and possessions. The bathroom is in the hallway. If you are interested in it, I can have some staff move your things in there. I did this for both your benefits, I do not pick sides after all. It can do until L or you make a formal request for one of the upper level rooms."

"With no bathroom it would be best we stay where we are..." the future detective mumbled.  
>"A public bathing area would simply give them another place to torment us..."<br>"If that is how you feel, that is fine. I will not press the matter further. By the way A, have you decided as to how you wish to use your reward yet? I am a patient man, but I am also curious."

Both ravens attentions fell upon her curiously, L looking her up and down as if predicting her response. A shook her head slowly.  
>"No.. Not yet. To be honest... I'd rather not have a reward. Beyond recovered with no side effects. That is the best reward I've been given..." The scarlet eyed boy was touched. He was her personal reward. It gave him more respect for the young blonde.<p>

"If you're not going to use your reward A, may I make a suggestion..." the future detective mumbles.  
>"Use your reward to advance your studies of this medication, find a way to cheapen it and make it readily available to the masses. If saving Beyond's life is reward enough, think of how good it will feel to help countless people all over the world?"<br>"That is what I am doing already, and I think I am getting closer to my goal!" she chirped, doing a little bounce in place.  
>"I plan on making two kinds, a stronger one for hospitals and a slightly more generic, but still effective one for people who need assistance with their asthma and other chest health problems."<p>

"And how does it look long term..." the detective asked, pointing to the tiny quivering creature.  
>"I am working on reducing or completely stopping the shaking side effect. But it compromises the formula, and I can't make sacrifices to what works best. Smudge was given his shot yesterday and about an hour ago the shaking started. It's an improvement from the last round. Smudge is a good sport though. I am careful with him."<p>

"Though I would hardly consider shaking a terrible side effect..." the raven mumbled and bit his thumb, "the 'overdosing' worries me more... Any news on that?"  
>"I've given the rats varying CC's of this latest batch. I have a camera fixed on their cells right now to determine what is lethal and apply the CC's to that of a human body. Conversion is not that hard when it comes down to it. There are no long term effects, this is mainly an emergency medicine meant to last about 3 more hours after the medicine is in the system." B listened silently, admiring her knowledge with humans.<p>

"On that note I have a suggestion for Watari and you both..." the detective mumbled.  
>"You already changed our names to aliases to stop our pasts from following us here, yet I think you should take it further... A wasn't taken seriously, mistakes where made, and it could have cost someone there lives... If not Beyond then someone else... I propose you remove all traces of our identity and credit us simply as what we are... No one ever has to know A's age... Or even what she looks like... People will assume she is older and let them do so..."<p>

"Are you saying we should live like ghosts Lawli?"  
>"This is a risky endeavor as it is L, but I think there can be some middle ground reached about this. I will discuss this with Roger and I will get back to you on it. Beyond, as you've been out of classes for so long, I've set aside some time to catch up on what was missed. You can do the work in your room, but there is a time limit to all of them." The wild eyed raven nodded his head.<br>"Not like ghosts, we will be there as our titles, people simply do not need to know more then that. They are bound to take A more seriously if they think she is a 60 year old women who has dedicated her whole life to this then if they knew she was 11, and spent a whole week coming up with batch one..."

"I will not simply erase your identities though L. As long as your records are kept within these walls, no one will know who you are. I will purchase a safe to hold the names. Roger and I will be the only people who will have access to it. I will not simply erase you. That would not be fair to those who wish to leave when they are 18."

"I was not implying that you should erase us, only that we should be able to hide..." L explained.  
>"To everyone on the outside we could appear to be whoever they imagine us to be... It will also stop them from exploiting A's name..."<br>"I will speak to Roger on the matter. When we've come to a decision, I will let you know personally because you asked first."

"Oh and also..." L scratched the top of his left foot with the toes of the other as he spoke, "did you get our new library cards?"  
>"Ah, yes. That's right." The elder male reaches into his waistcoat and procures two new licenses and hands them to the pair. "These are good for 30 days. If you wish to renew them, let me or Roger know and we can issue new ones out."<br>"Thank you Watari." the elder of the ravens takes both cards, giving one to his friend before briefly checking over his own.  
>"We will make good use of them while Beyond is ill..."<p>

"I apologize, but I am afraid I have other matters to attend to at this time. I will talk to you another time my children. Take care and the best of luck in your recovery Beyond."  
>"Thank you Watari..." B looked to his card before turning his attention back to A.<br>"Thank you again A for helping me heal faster... I don't think I would have survived if it were not for you..."

"Don't mention it, I'm just glad your feeling better!" A smiled and looked at the fierce looking dragon.  
>"This is cool to! Thanks! He can hold up my science books!"<br>"Whoa there A! It looks strong, but it is made from soft wood. Any pressure too great will cause it to break. Don't want to break your gift so soon, alright?"

"Oh? but it looks like it would be fine..." A flips the dragon upside down and inspects the grain on the bottom...  
>"I see what you mean though... maybe he can just sit on my bed then... I'll have to stick him on somehow so he won't fall...One of your 'dud' lions is holding up my books now anyway..."<br>"Why don't you just get of the duds and let me make you some other carvings instead? I'll use hard wood if you want..."  
>"Because I like them..." A said, petting the little mouse on the head once more.<br>"I bet you could even sell them to art dealers and make some money to run your own experiments! I am pretty sure you would make some killer safe pesticides!"

"Nature has provided many natural defenses, but getting to the ones I specifically want will demand much of my time and money. It's worth the shot. I'll develop natural medicines. Perhaps when I have a viable product, we should do a collaboration and see what comes of our bio medicines."  
>"I'd like that." A smiled and looked at her older brother.<br>"Maybe we can be better together then we are apart... We could cure diseases!"

"Sounds like a plan A." B gave her a small smile and stood to give her a hug.  
>"Thanks again A..." he murmured and gave her an innocent peck on the cheek.<br>"Any time B..." she chirps and finally pulls away with her usual warm smile.  
>"Alright, smudge and I have some more tests to run right Smudge?" She petted the little creature once more.<br>"Oh and if you wanted to know what kinds of hormones are in that medicine... it was produced by Mexican walking fish to re-grow limbs! Yeah... I thought you would like that... it was you and your obsession with creepy creatures that inspired it after all..."

"That's amazing! We'll need to do more studies with these regenerative species to aid in our scientific exploits." The prospect of such a venture lifted up B's spirit and he grinned wider.  
>"I knew you would like it!" she smiled and then scratched the back of her head.<br>"Though you would probably know more about them then I do..."  
>"I can teach you everything I know about animal biology. You'd be surprised at what this mind knows..." He backs up to sit back on the bed in his crouch.<br>"Lawli wants to be a detective... I think it's perfect for him, don't you agree?"  
>"Yep!" A grins and L gives a soft smile back.<br>"Alright time to go! Be sure to tell me if you get out a horror movie and I'll come watch!" With that she marches out of the room leaving behind the two ravens with there all purpose library license.

"Walking fish hormones?" L questioned, looking over at his friend who would be able to tell him more about a creature he had never met before.  
>"There is a species of salamander in Mexico called the Axolotl that can regenerate entire lost limbs and even vital organs within a span of months. It has been mistaken for a walking fish because adult forms have tiny legs and resemble fish more. They do not leave their 'larval'<br>stage and do in fact resemble a fish with legs... Fascinating creatures..." He nibbled on an index finger for a few moments,

"Interesting... You should have been the one to think of that..." A little smirk forms on the elders face.  
>"This from the girl who nearly ate a poison mushroom... she is smarter then we give her credit for..."<br>"There are countless other species, plant and animal alike that have a naturally occurring ability to regenerate lost parts. A fine example, and perhaps a better one that I should bring up are starfish. Cut off all the limbs to one starfish and within a similar time frame, you will have 5 starfish." He chuckled at the memory.  
>"We need to finish our hideout, it's been rather abandoned for the time being, unless A has added to it..."<p>

"A has probably filled it with mice by now..." The older sighed, he couldn't help but think A would have turned it into some kind of primitive tree lab.  
>"I hope she hasn't... It was supposed to be a hideout for the three of us when things got too rough... or just a place to escape to. Not that I wouldn't mind sharing the space with mice... But it would be good to have that space back to serve its original purpose..."<p>

"Why do you suppose she named that mouse Smudge?" The stone eyed raven mused.  
>"And how did she make it so tame when all she does is stick needles into it?"<br>"Hard to say..." he murmured in reply, still nibbling on a finger. "That mouse was absolutely petrified of her the first time we seen it... She must spoil it with peanut butter or have peanuts on her person somewhere... hard to say..."

"Well it's obviously spoiled." the elder states.  
>"It is A we are talking about..."<br>"If A had a motto, it would be 'If it's worth doing, it's worth overdoing'... She certainly lives up to that motto perfectly..." He shifted more onto the bed and curled onto his side.  
>"Yes... It suits her perfectly..." the elder mumbled back and laid down next to his friend for a moment.<br>"Now we have our licenses... what should we get out for today?"  
>"I'm up for anything at this point. Surprise me." He smirked a little and closed his eyes, still feeling tired, thanking his poor health for it.<p>

"Why don't you call the nurse and ask for some lunch while I go and get some videos then? Any genre preferences? I might get a book on these axolotls while I'm there..." he had heard of the amphibians but never thought to much about them until now.

"I said surprise me Lawli..." He sat back up and went to the intercom system and pressed the one to the chef of the hospital wing. There was a muffled greeting on the other line.  
>"This is Beyond... I am requesting some lunch if you will. I am rather starved. Could you make something semi-sweet and filling please? Also, L would like something sugary and fruity... Could you also bring Jam and a fruit bowl?" There was a long pause to which B did not know what was happening on the other line. There was a muffled affirming sound before he cut the line.<p> 


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 13

L exited the wing and slowly padded down the halls, noting that everyone must be in class as no one was in the halls save for the cleaner who gave him a friendly smile as he shuffled past. Once he finally entered the library, he walked up to his favorite member of the staff except Watari.  
>"Excuse me, I have a restricted material license, can I please enter?" Maybe he could ask her what she recommended. The older lady smiled at seeing her favorite pupil.<br>"L, it has been a long time since I saw you last, and you say you have a restricted pass? I can allow you into the back room then if that is where you would like to go." Her accented voice contained happiness and she smiled to confirm as much.

"Thank you, I haven't been around much because B is really sick, but he is getting better and we are looking for some new videos to watch to pass the time as he is still a little to off to read for long periods of time..." he informs the kindly German lady.  
>"On that note... I wasn't sure where to start..."<br>"I had heard about the procedure that took place. I heard he did make a great recovery. I hope to see him here with you again soon though. As for a recommendation... What are you looking for specifically dear? That will help me help you."

"I'm not totally sure... I have never been back there..." It was the only part of the library that B and L did not know the ins and out of intimately, in fact their knowledge of what came and went in there was purely from the older children who would sometimes speak of the movies and books in the entertainment section or on discussing what was in the documentaries in class.  
>"We have been forced to suffer through quite a few base documentaries on lions, sharks and jelly fish that have made there way down to the hospital wing... Something entertaining would be appreciated..."<br>"Well then my dear, I will walk you through the back room and help you sort out what material you seek." She motioned the older raven to follow her after opening the gate to behind her desk. Once he was inside, she closed the gate and walked to a plain oak door that she unlocked and motioned him to follow inside.

L slowly trotted in behind her in his usual slouch though there was excitement in his eyes. The back room was big, almost as big as the rest of the library and divided further into sections by Roger's idea of age suitability, subject matter and the level of licensing needed, starting with blue for those 15+ and ending with red at 18+ though there was also a black section of study footage available only on request including videos of car crash victims, autopsy's of rare diseases, and detailed murder case studies. The panda eyed male looked down at his card to see a little red dot indicating the level in which the license would allow him to borrow at, meaning he could take anything except the black level videos and files. this suited him just fine however, the black section didn't seem like it would be very 'entertaining' to a still sick Beyond anyway.  
>"A's original reports will be here eventually right?" He already knew that many of Watari's discovery's where documented here as well as the works of other students who had stumbled upon something in their original forms.<p>

"Yes, Roger is still in the process of reviewing it before he sends me the whole files. I look forward to looking at her findings myself. I am so proud of her for making this discovery, she will go far in her field, I am sure of it. It will make a great addition to this collection. Now then, would you like to browse alone? There are step ladders available for the material that is out of reach near the entrance. If you'd like any recommendations for entertainment, I'd go with the 15+ entertainment section. The increased curse words have warranted them the rating."

"Can you point me to some good crime movies?" the detective asked.  
>"And perhaps something, from any section of the library, on the Mexican walking fish?"<br>"We actually do not have very much crime movies in here. Crime movies about the antagonists, there are a couple that are for an older audience are Scar Face, and The Godfather trilogy." She looks thoughtful for a moment.  
>"The Axolotl? I have a section on amphibians here and the regular books that have this information. The books you want are just past this row here and they are categorized the same as the movies."<p>

L looked up at the movies for a moment. The Godfather seemed to be the most interesting... " "Alright I'll borrow The Godfather movies and whatever Axolotl book you would recommend..."  
>"O, D and V have all come seeking out Axolotl information from this end, so I think I know what one you might like." She leads the younger male to the amphibian section which also contained a section with jarred specimens of the animals in question. She noted a step ladder that was left behind, but did not think of it as a bad thing as she needed it in the first place. She flipped through the books until the right one was found.<br>"Everything you want to know about Axolotls can be found in here." It was not a very thick book, but it would provide an interesting read nonetheless.

L took the book and his three videos in hand, looking briefly at the jarred amphibians of all different kinds and at every stage of development.  
>"Those animals probably saved Beyond's life..." And yet somehow in the jars they seemed so... sad... he usually didn't feel sorry for the specimens but in this case he felt a sort of bond to the creature who did so much for him without even knowing it. Perhaps one of the first orders of business would be to get one as a pet upon gaining money enough for such a thing. He knew V had a frog so he couldn't see a problem with it.<p>

"A's instinct to use their biochemistry for creating her medicines was a smart move, and leaves a lot of room for possibilities. Why now that I think on it, she and Beyond would make a perfect pair in that field as they both have knowledge in the sciences already. If she has not yet brought it up with B, she should. If she has, I am proud of her." She leads the future detective outside and motions him to the other end when the gate was opened. She checked out the movies for 4 days and the book for 6.  
>"Take care L and enjoy the material. I hope to see you soon."<p>

"I am sure you will see Beyond when I come to return the movies." He gave her a friendly smile and put everything in one of the library bags at the end of the counter before heading back to the middle-most wing of the orphanage, it was also the smallest wing as it was only one floor high and consisted of only 6 rooms, one of which was occupied by beyond, another was for consults with the visiting doctor though there was a medic who lived on sight who was there most hours and if not he could be easily reached via page. There was a room for surgical as well so that they didn't have to go off sight for minor things that where constantly happening, and a recovery room as well as a second long term stay room and one with three beds in it intended for students with things like vomiting who would stay over night but not much longer. The two long term rooms contained a bed, a couch and a TV while the over night patients would have to contend with a radio or book.

The younger raven was sitting patiently on the couch with this semi-sweet meal of rice pudding and a blueberry scone. He was halfway done both when the future detective walked in with what looked to be movies from the restricted section as well as a book. He brightened at seeing the older.  
>"Welcome back Lawli, Your food is still covered so it should still be warm." He dipped the scone into the pudding and nibbled on it.<br>"I was not sure what to get so I got The Godfather..." the panda eyed boy was not sure what it was about but the only thing that mattered is that they hadn't seen it and David Attenborough didn't do the voice-overs.  
>"Sounds interesting... If it beats out these outdated documentaries, then so be it." He sidled over to let his counterpart have a cushion, careful not to drop his food in the process.<p>

L quickly set up the first video, putting the lion documentary in its case and setting it aside. The panda eyed male then set the bag down, taking out his book and scurrying back to his friend. The wild raven watched with rapt attention through the old previews of other 18+ films that Roger would have otherwise disapproved of. He sidled back to his older counterpart and dunked his scone into the pudding and nibbled away on it as the film started at last.

The grey eyed future detective started on the bowl of sliced fruit and orange juice while watching the video though he soon turned his attention to the book in his hand, looking at the pictures on the cover.  
>"We should get one..."<br>"Axolotls are an endangered species Lawli. We would be better off starting a breeding program... It would be a win-win because you would have Axolotls and ensuring that there will still be Axolotls in the future..." B put his index finger in his mouth in thought.  
>"I would imagine that it would be expensive in purchasing more than one breeding pair.." he mused.<br>"Not to mention transportation of the animals and food they will be needing, plus a large pool with water temperature and salinity that is perfect for them..."

"Maybe... this can be A's reward?" the future detective mumbled.  
>"She can have her own pond of the creatures and then you and her can study them more closely and have them breed..." he opened the book to the first page.<br>"They like water fleas..."  
>"I think the zoo has some water fleas... We can ask Watari if they are willing to part with some. Live prey is better after all... Yes, breeding the rare animals will allow us insight into them a lot better the more hands-on the research is..." He had his attention split 3 ways, but it did not bother him. He nibbled on his scone some more while looking thoughtful.<p>

It would have been hard for the future detective to pay attention to the movie with his mind racing if it wasn't for the sweet cherry's he popped into his mouth at regular intervals and the book he could turn to when the story got slow. He was less then half an hour into it when he looked to his friend.  
>"It says here that if they get an infection, fungus or tumor you can cut the entire infected part off completely rather then letting it spread and the area will simply grow back..." He put his thumb to his lip in thought, looking intently at the pictures of the limbless creatures.<br>"This part is where A got her idea from..."

"That sort of healing ability when targeted towards healthy cells will benefit many, though I think that including healing benefits from other animals and plants will not only benefit mankind, it could possibly change the face of healthcare as we know it..." A small grin crept on his face before downing the rest of the rice pudding and scone in a couple bites.

L nodded and spotted a small spot of pudding on the boys lips. Without even thinking, he leaned over and licked it off gently. The feeling of a warm tongue on his lips send pleasant tingles down his spine and he blushed slightly.  
>"Didn't notice that... thanks..." He smiled weakly and blushed a little more.<p>

The elder male tilts his head to the side slightly in curiosity, nibbling his thumb. Why was his friend blushing like that? Scarlet orbs looked into slanted onyx orbs for a short while before determining that the older was curious about him, or something on him.  
>"What is it Lawli?" The lingering sensation stuck and prolonged his blush for a little bit longer.<br>"You look like a strawberry..." the future detective noted, leaning in to lick his pink cheeks to see if they tasted the way he looks. The blush darkened and he giggled, but didn't lean away.  
>"I'm not one of your fruits Lawli," he giggled again before stopping himself. He never ever giggled before and the little laughter was new and strange to him.<p>

L strangely found his friends giggling to be almost... cute? He couldn't resist licking his cheek all the more. After a giggle fit from being licked by the older raven, B shyly returned the favor to the older raven's cheek with a gentle kiss.

It was the grey eyed males turn to blush and push his friend down, cuddling into his friends chest in a way that seems natural. The wild raven cupped the older's face and pulled him up so he could have proper 'revenge' from the licking. He gently kissed the future detective's cheeks, nose, chin and lips in a very determined, but gentle way. L's entire body shivered in response. It felt undeniably good to be handled with such care even if it was in revenge.


	14. Mature 1

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

A/N: Mature Content

Mature Part 1

Some strange force pulled the younger raven back to the neck area where the pulse point was then kissed, the same unwavering tenderness present. He felt his body starting to warm up a little and found it odd, but pleasant. It was the same force that drew the older male to cuddle into his friend, pushing their bodies together too.

B worked the pulse area, not sure what he was hoping to accomplish by this, but the older pressing down on him sent more tingles and made him warmer. He let out a soft moan of his own at the closer contact. L nuzzled into his friends shoulder and automatically runs his hand up and down the red eyed boy's sides.

The wild raven felt like everything was suddenly very sensitive and he shuddered and gasped at the contact. His upper body arched upwards slightly before another soft moan escaped. The grey eyed raven softly started mimicking his friends actions by kissing his friends neck and shoulder softly and carefully.

B shivered, the sensations running through him felt really good and when the older raven began to kiss his neck, it served to free another moan, less soft this time. Unconsciously, his hips moved on their own accord and he bucked up. The soft grinding against his own body let the future detective shiver and let out a soft moan, synchronized with Beyond's own.

The younger raven felt some strange pressure gathering in his lower body, but he could not explain it. His hips moved slowly upwards and he moaned softly with each bit of friction. Whatever this was, it felt good... really good. The stone eyed raven slowly started to rub himself against his friend, increasing the pleasure yet not understanding why.

B let out a louder, startled moan when L's thigh started to press between his legs at regular intervals.  
>"L-Lawli..." he moaned, holding his friend close.<br>"Nnh... d-don't stop... f-feels... aah... good..."

"A-alright..." L replied and slowly moved so that their crotches where rubbing together with the movements. The slow grinding was sending waves of pleasure to the younger raven's groin and he gasped and moaned whenever they rubbed together. He used his arm and pushed a jean clad leg into the middle so that the older was now settled between his legs. He shifted for more contact and shuddered as the pleasure increased.

Slowly the pressure and the pleasure built until it seemingly exploded, leaving the elder male moaning and panting with pleasure. He wasn't sure what happened, but it felt better then anything. The sudden jerking of the older raven's hips and a strange warmth that emanated from the older male's groin helped to send him over the edge with a moan of his own.

L shifted around a little, feeling a little wet in his borrowed boxer shorts and not understanding why. The younger raven tensed and let out a shuddering gasp before falling on the older, calming down his breathing and trying to make sense of everything that transpired. He felt very tired all of a sudden and didn't want to leave. There was a strange wetness and a similar warmth between his legs, but it was lost on him, all he knew was that whatever happened, it was better than anything he'd ever done before.

The older raven had the urge to curl up with his friend and sleep which was unusual because he wasn't really tired. It was the contact that he craved. B slowed down his breathing and cuddled the older raven's chest, sated, tired and unaware the act they had just performed was too mature for them to comprehend. Needless to say, the movie went ignored as well as the dessert. He fell into a dreamless sleep, shivering pleasantly now and then.

L curled up and slowly calming down, becoming restful. He didn't understand anything about the what they did so all he understood is that it felt good and nothing else mattered. The younger raven did something this time that also never transpired before. He started to moan softly in his sleep, but nothing more beyond that. It continued until he woke again five hours later.


	15. Chapter 14

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 14

The stone eyed raven shifted around uncomfortably. Now he wanted a shower as he was starting to disapprove of the way he smelled after sweating so much. The wild raven's eyes opened slowly and he nuzzled the older's chest before the odd odor hit him in the nose. It was not like sweat, though it was a part of the smell; it was something else, but he could not place it. He neither liked the smell nor disliked, it, but he saw it that it was making the older uncomfortable.

"Hey..." he murmured, placing a soft kiss to the older's chest and smiling softly.  
>"Good... Night..." the elder mumbled after a brief check of the time. He hasn't been paying much attention to the time after all.<br>"We smell funny..." B mused, sniffing the air around them to confirm this to himself.  
>"We should get cleaned before anyone else notices..."<br>"Yes," the elder mused.  
>"May I borrow something to wear?"<br>"Yes, there are clothes in the drawer..." He stands from his comfortable position and feels something sticky in his underwear. It is rather unpleasant and he squirms uncomfortably.

The future detective went to the drawer and took out a pair of plain grey boxers, padding into the wing's one shared bathroom that had two showers, and two plain sinks. The deep blue tiles where covered in random stickers of fish, dolphins and other aquatic life, a reminder that most of the children at Wammy's where taken from their old homes with terrible injuries and sicknesses... A was a perfect example...

The younger raven removes clean underwear and a pair of night pants and towel before walking into the shared bathroom where he stripped down and noticed the cause of his discomfort, a strange off-white colored substance. He brought this to his nose and gave it an experimental sniff and determined that is what it was, but what it was escaped him. He didn't want to know and tossed it to the floor and started his shower. L had done the same thing not five minutes before his friend though he didn't have as much to take off. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feeling of the warm water rushing over him.

B was not the patient type in a shower and got to cleaning his body right away, feeling relief when the sweat and everything else was washed away from his person. He scrubbed hard and fast, wanting to be clean and out of the shower just as fast. The stone eyed raven took his time, disappointed when he didn't find shampoo that was to his liking and having to settle with some home brand anti-dandruff shampoo that resembled, in his opinion, the sent of dog shampoo, wet dog and all.

He turned off the water after he was cleaned and shook out the water dog style before stepping out of the shower stall to briefly dry out his hair and then his body, keeping up the same fast pace before he was re-dressed and back outside with dirty clothes he tossed into the hamper.

Beyond wasn't surprised that his friend took a full ten minutes longer, he took his time drying as well.

The wild eyed boy waited patiently for his friend to come out of the bathroom. Meanwhile, now that he was fully awake again, he sought out his jam and the fruit they didn't eat earlier. He noted the television was off. They didn't move at all to have turned it off... so who came in here while he slept? Lawli would have seen the person for sure.

L finally made his way out of the bathroom, lazily plodding over to the lounge and sitting down next to his friend. Red eyes turned to look at him.  
>"Lawli... Do you know who turned off the television?" He nibbled at an index finger before pouring some jam into his mouth, opting not to get his fingers sticky this time.<br>"A," he stated simply, picking at the fruit that did not go bad over time like the cherries and grapes.  
>"When did she come around?" He plucked at one of the older's fruits and popped it into his mouth, keeping his gaze focused on nothing in particular.<br>"Not to long ago, I wasn't keeping track of the time." He gestured towards the end of the table. "She assumed we where both asleep though she left you something..."

He looked to the table end in question and noted a gift wrapped box. His head tilted before long thin arms reached out to grab the contents, setting his jam aside. He brought it to his ear and gave is a very light shake.  
>"I wonder what it could be..."<br>"A thank you for the dragon I think... Or perhaps a get well gift," he stated, sucking on another grape.

B set the box down and opened it delicately, liking the wrapper she used enough to try spare it. Inside was a small plastic tank with a terrain and what appeared to be several stones. He noted a booklet and opened it, his eyes widening a little at what he saw. A sentimental grin took over his face.  
>"She got me Sea Monkeys. How thoughtful of her."<br>"Sea Monkeys?" The future detective looked over the small plastic tank, seeing nothing.  
>"I don't see anything..." he mumbled and picked up the card.<br>"Yes, they are perfect little underwater companions. I will have to order some powered food from the fish store so I can feed them. Until then, I will leave the tank empty. I will order some at the earliest time in the morning. They are rather cute little creatures."

L still didn't understand what these creatures were, but decided he would find out in time. Slowly the elder raven opens the tiny card to see a big, elaborately drawn letter B in red, sparkling marker pen, a smaller letter A in the same style was at the bottom of the page.  
>"It reads: 'B, I can't wait to work with you, these were in the catalogue I was looking through to find walking fish, hope you like them. Love A."<p>

B's sentimental grin grew wider.  
>"That is so nice of her. I will have to name one of the Monkeys after her. And one after you of course. Secretly, I've always wanted these in my possession, but never got around to it. She's an angel for helping me out. I look forward to working with her."<br>"I am still not sure what they are... Or where they are for that matter..." he was unsure how such a pet could go unnoticed.

"You see those things that resemble stones in the tank?" He gestures to the 5 round objects that remain unmoving.  
>"They are inside of those. You just add water and they come back to life and emerge from the mud balls. It is rather fascinating to witness."<br>"Strange..." the detective mumbled and looks closer at the little balls.  
>"So they're... alive?"<br>"Not the balls themselves, but yes the creatures in them are very much alive. I don't want to wake them and have them starving. The food packet provided will only last for 6 feedings before it runs out. I want to get a good start on their diet before I wake them."

"They have me curious..." the stone eyed raven mumbled and bit his thumb. A knew just how to make B feel better even if she was not always rewarded with trust in return.  
>"They are not for everyone, but I think you may even like them." He sets the tank back onto the table before taking his jam and sucking more into his mouth and swallowing with a hum of satisfaction.<br>"I'm sure I will... I like our puff dragon after all" he mumbled in reply, turning back to the momentarily abandoned food.  
>"I hope Watari has been adding crickets to its diet. I hope no one has stolen anything from our room for that matter..."<br>"Watari did promise to take care of everything so I am sure it's all alright..." L mumbled, voice slightly muffled by the six grapes he added to his mouth one at a time.

B snuck two fingers into the older raven's mouth to snatch a grape and pop it into his mouth. "Glad to hear it... I hope..."  
>L gave a huff and reached for his stolen fruit but it was far too late. B grinned cheekily and chewed on the grape in his mouth before sucking more jam into his mouth.<br>"So I have 3 more days in here I guess... I am going to request an earlier leave. I like the privacy and all, but even I have my limits with isolation..."

L was about to say something in his defense when he was knocked out of their little world by loud noises outside. He slowly padded to the door to see Watari, another young lady, the medic and the nurse pushing a stretcher with T laying on it looking very far away. T was a kindly young girl, around A's age, L only remembered her from Christmas when she brought them gifts, not wanting them to feel left out...  
>"What happened!" the medic demands.<br>"I... I came back from dinner and she... she was hanging by her belt from the fan!"

B stood from the couch and padded next to his friend and looked upon the gravely young girl and focused his gaze on her numbers. It was not her time yet. It would seem that her life would end in another 5 years which was upsetting. To see her like this still unnerved the younger raven. L knew normally Beyond wouldn't tell him but it would seem now was a good time to ask.  
>"What do you think?"<br>"It's not her time..." he stated, bringing an index finger and gently nibbled on the end of it.  
>"I think she'll succeed later on... Pity though... she seems so kind..."<br>"She is..." L mumbled, keeping his eyes on the girl as she is taken from view.  
>"Perhaps she is lonely... I never thought she was the type."<p>

"People are not who they appear at first Lawli... We are orphans, abandoned by means of death or being too different or because 'mum' or 'dad' didn't care anymore... we suffer emotional trauma... She is no different..."  
>"Though she is so gentle..." he mumbled, "A herself can testify that that does not mean your past is any less painful..."<p>

The younger raven nodded before sucking more jam into his mouth.  
>"She will be missed by those who cared about her here, I'm sure of it..."<br>"If there is anyone left to miss her..." the elder mumbled back then fell quiet for a few moments.  
>"A... Do you know what happened?" L had seen the scars yet he was never sure...<br>"No one was around to see her, everyone was in the dining hall..." A was visibly upset, tears streamed down her face and she was sniffling constantly.  
>"She had been planning for this for some time then..." B mused.<br>"Apparently..." the detective mumbled sadly,  
>"Are you okay?"<p>

A shook her head, prompting B to step forward and pull A into a comforting embrace.  
>"I'm sorry you had to see that A... I really am..."<br>"I... I... I couldn't d-do anything!" she screamed into her big brothers chest.  
>B rubbed her back and made soothing sounds.<br>"There was nothing anyone of us could have done to prevent it A... It is not your fault or anyone else's for that matter..."

The young blonde finally broke free of the hug after a few long moments and having seemingly calmed down a little.  
>"I... I'm going to go watch..." She announced and ran off behind to find T and her room mate Q and see how they where doing.<br>"I never thought I would see a suicide of someone close to me..." L mumbled.  
>"It's a frightening thought..."<br>"She's not dead... she was found and now she is safe for the time being... it is unfortunate she did try to take her life..." Unknown to the younger raven, something darker had rooted itself into his mind, altering his mentality further. He pulled the older raven back inside to shield him from the saddening sight.

"She tried... that's all that mattered..." The future detective mumbled, "And as you said she is likely to try again and succeed..."  
>"She most likely will, but that is something I cannot stop from happening..." He shuffled to the table and picked up his aquarium and set it on the end table by his bed before crawling under the sheets, taking one more gulp of the jam before setting that down. He was far from tired, but the mattress was more comforting to him to be in when something like this happened.<p>

L simply stood in place, as hunched over as usual, looking at the plain off-white door. He couldn't picture how sad someone would have to be to do something like that. How lonely... It's true he was very depressed for a short time after his parents died but then he found Beyond and things got better...  
>"Beyond..." the detective asked after a long pause, "has A ever told you what happened to her?" He had seen her scars when she was in her swimmers and knew A got very sad sometimes but he never knew why.<p>

The younger raven shook his head slowly.  
>"No, but... To cut herself like that... it must have been very traumatic... If I had to guess... I'd say she was sexually abused at a young age before she came here and never got over it..." He buried himself a little into the blankets and shuddered.<br>"That would be my guess as well..." he mumbled and sighed deeply.  
>"I hope she never turns the way T did..."<p>

"I don't think she will... She has a strong and determined spirit. She will help many people and with my help, we can help countless more with the natural medicines that animals and plants can provide..." He looks to his friend near the door and frowned. He didn't move from the bed however and stayed where he was.

"And yet sometimes she seems so sad..." The detective commented after a deep breath.  
>"I think we all carry sadness no matter what Lawli..." He curled into the blankets more and huffed out a soft sigh. Finally L moved from his position at the door, slowly slinking back to the bed to sit down next to his friend.<br>"You're right..." he mumbled softly, "time does not heal all..."  
>"That's true, but some are stronger than others. I think A is one of the strongest I've seen. She would have probably ended her life years ago, but she has a reason to live, probably several for that matter..." He sidled himself closer to his friend.<p>

"What about you Beyond?" the stone eyed raven asks quietly, not making eye contact with his friend in favor of looking into the nothingness.  
>"Do you still hurt?"<br>"When your own mother nearly kills you by drowning... the one person who carried you and nurtured you for 9 months... the one person who is supposed to love you unconditionally... one cannot help but feel hurt..." He buries himself completely and sniffles under the blankets, making a cocoon of the blankets.  
>"That is true... But you have Watari, A and me now..." he mumbles softly.<br>"It may not compare, but its more then some people have..."

The younger raven shaped lump shuddered and sniffled under the cocoon, curling into himself.  
>"Hey?" the dark eyed boy slowly broke open the blanket sack and curled up inside with him, only wishing that being with his friend was enough to ease the pain.<p>

"I st-still miss my mum, you know?" He didn't stop the tears from flowing and diverted his gaze, rotating so he faced away.  
>"Sh-she is s-still the one wh-who had m-me..." He sniffled and wiped away stray tears and curled into himself. L softly stroked his friends cheek and gave him a sad smile.<br>"I miss my mother too..." he whispered.  
>"She used to tuck me in at night and sing me to sleep... She's dead now and I miss her..."<p>

The younger raven sniffled more and curled more into himself, sobbing softly and shuddering lightly.  
>"A-at least y-you had a m-mum who l-loved you en-enough to t-tuck you in... Mum n-never did an-anything f-for me..."<br>"But... I can do it for you..." the elder mumbled shyly.  
>"I'll always be there for you if you need me..."<br>"I kn-know Lawli... I-I'll always love you..." He sniffled more before wiping tears away and slowly leaning back into his friend at last, soft sobbing hiccups taking over him.  
>"I'll always love you too..." the elder whispered, "so don't cry..."<p>

B calmed down his breathing, but could not stop the hiccups. He rotated so that he faced the older and pulled him close, cuddling his chest and nuzzling the skin. L had resolved to always protect his young friend no matter what happened. They were family and they would do anything for each other.

Some time had passed when he finally calmed down. He looked with puffy eyes at the wet stains and started to lick away the salty tears from the other's chest, not wanting to leave behind evidence of his crying. The elder made a deep sound like the purr of a cat and ran his hands through the wild eyed raven's thick hair.

B continued his slow casual pace of cleaning the tears, lightly shivering when certain spots of his head were touched. The dark eyed raven lightly closed his eyes. The feeling was relaxing and sent bolts of pleasure around his body every now and then. B finished cleaning and looked up to see this friend with lidded eyes and tilted his head curiously, wondering why his friend looked like that. He kept his chin rested and enjoyed the light petting that calmed him down; shivering now and then when those spots were petted.

L started humming softly to his friend, a song with no name and of unknown origin. It played out softly in his mind and was somewhat dark yet comforting. B closed his eyes and listened, lightly kissing his chest and sometimes trying to hum along. As the song went on it became clear that it wasn't a happy tune though it never became any less relaxing. L wasn't sure where he heard it or if it was only in his dreams, but it was of darkness swallowing the world whole yet it still being peaceful in its endless void.

It lulled the younger to sleep. Unconsciously, his mouth found a nipple and latched on, unaware in his sleep state that he'd done it, but still registering the soft tune. He hummed onto the chest and softly kneaded the skin there. He'd lost himself in another dreamless sleep, but the song gave him random images and they calmed him. L's tune was broken every now and then by a soft moan. It felt good.

A more primal instinct took over him and he gently suckled the nub while lost in his sleep. In his mind, the random images flashed through his vision, but never manifesting long enough to register as a dream, but their effect was the same. Eventually the pleasure it caused begun to manifest as a strange heat that L did not understand, and things the raven cant understand cause him to quickly become troubled. He fell quiet and dove inward, trying to explain the feelings and thoughts.

Time passed before the younger raven eventually woke to find himself in a strange situation. He let go of the nipple in his mouth and made a weird face. He felt a familiar heat emanating from the older and saw his friend looking like he was trying to figure what was going on. B was wondering as well. L shifted about a little to make himself more comfortable upon realizing that his friend was once again awake.  
>"Good morning Beyond..."<p>

The wild raven dried off that area of chest and looked confused and embarrassed at the predicament that had been created.  
>"Umm... Morning... Uhh... Sorry about that..." He chuckled nervously and moved himself off of the older raven.<br>"I don't mind..." the elder mumbled. In truth he didn't mind though clearly it caused a lot of confusion.

"You sure? I didn't do anything too odd, did I?" He was currently half on and half off and conflicted as to going completely off or settling back onto the warm body of his companion.  
>"It felt strange..." the future detective admitted, "but also good..."<br>B kneeled and opted to sit on a leg.  
>"Strange and good how?" He was curious himself, but still admittedly embarrassed that he'd done something that only infants are supposed to do.<p> 


	16. Mature 2

Dislclaimer and such in Chapter 1

A/N: Mature content

Mature Part 2

L could not explain the sensation in words so instead opted to show his friend. Slowly and carefully, the stone eyed raven crawled on top of his young friend, pushing him down onto the bed and lifting his shirt. He took a soft bud into his mouth and lightly started sucking on the tender flesh.

Pleasurable tingling sensations radiated from the spot his companion had taken into his mouth. B shivered and his breath hitched. Using a hand to gently grip the hair, B began to gently massage the older raven's scalp, trying to figure out this oddly pleasant feeling from having his nipple sucked on. His other hand had wandered and began softly petting the older raven's back. His eyes closed halfway and he went completely relaxed under the ministrations.

Slowly and as if unsure, L's hand reached up to gently tweak his friends other nipple, hoping to generate more of what he knew to be a very pleasant feeling. The grip on the older raven's hair tightened slightly, followed by another hitching of breath that was followed by a very soft breathy moan, barely perceptible. He continued to pet the older raven's hair, enjoying this strange sensation. His body had begun to warm up again slightly and he shifted himself to get more comfortable.

Something in the older raven begun to stir, causing him to unconsciously rub against his friends leg. The thin material of the boxers had allowed B to feel something rub against his leg.  
>"W-wait Lawli..." he gasped out, stopping the ministrations to his chest. The elder did as he was told and sat up, curious as to why his friend stopped him despite clearly enjoying it.<p>

B looked down to see the cause of the weird thing rubbing against his leg, only to see a slight bulge in the boxers his friend was borrowing from him. He tilted his head curiously and sat up before reaching out and touching said bulge with the palm of his hand, feeling heat emanating from it. L gave a soft moan. The feeling just touching the area caused was almost painfully good.

"Does that feel good Lawli? It's really warm there." He rubbed the area experimentally, feeling the area get warmer and... harder?  
>"Y-yes..." he breathed out, not sure what to think of the situation at all. Acting on his curiosity further, B went ahead and lowered the boxers to expose the heated flesh to the air, noting the slight shiver the future detective gave in response. He saw the flesh of the older raven's most private area swell to its full length. Without thinking about it, he gripped it, feeling more heat than before.<p>

L gave out another moan that almost sounded painful. He really didn't know what to make of it. B let go, alarmed that he may have hurt his friend.  
>"Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"<br>"N-no... it... I don't know... it felt good... I think..." It was hard to explain the feeling to his friend and the detective gave another soft moan as he shifted to make himself more comfortable.  
>"Whatever happened to your private area... it looks like it's making you uncomfortable..." He lightly gripped the underside and slowly stroked the heated flesh, hoping that this would help his uncomfortable feeling. Before he did that, he brought a hand to the older raven's mouth to muffle his voice, not wanting to draw attention to them. L's moans where muffled into the younger males hands and he closed his eyes. His breathing was picking up and he couldn't stop himself from making these noises.<p>

The younger raven felt some heated fluid leak onto his palm and he stopped his attentions briefly to look at it. He removed his hand and poked at the clear fluid, wondering where it came from. He rubbed the fluid off of his hand and onto the heated flesh, noting that more had leaked out, revealing the source of the fluids.  
>"You're leaking Lawli..." he observed, poking at the tip and gathering more of the clear fluid.<br>"Y-yeah..." Again the future detective wasn't sure what to make of it, only that touching it felt good and that it wasn't hurting though leaving it alone was uncomfortable.

"I wonder if it's supposed to help make things less uncomfortable..." He stroked the tip with a finger until enough fluid had gathered before palming the heated flesh again, noting that things went a lot smoother this time.  
>"T-that's a lot b-better..." the detective breathed. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it was before and the feeling of pleasure was stronger.<p>

Again out of curiosity, he gripped the heated flesh lightly and pulled on it gently before squeezing slightly tighter as he pushed forward, repeating this motion. He began to feel himself react to this at last and shifted slightly. L let his eyes fall half lidded and bit his lip to stop noises from escaping further.

B stopped his attentions completely then, desperately wanting to do... something. He rotated the older raven and gently set him on his hands and knees before leaning forward and rubbing against a thigh from behind. His pants were slightly broken the more his body reacted.

"W-what are y-you doing?" It wasn't as though it felt bad, just odd.  
>"I-I don't kn-know..." He pressed a little harder against his friend and let out a breathy moan, feeling the pleasure build.<p>

The future detective let his waistband slip down his front so he could lay his head on the pillow and try and ignore the rapidly building pressure. Beyond thrust against his friend, the friction sending increasing pleasure to his groin, pushing him forwards faster. Almost as an afterthought, he reached around and gripped his friend in the front to pump him in time with his thrusts, muffling his own moans by biting the older raven's shoulder gently.

Again the elder male started to moan in pleasure. It was unbearable! It got too much for the wild raven and the overwhelming pleasurable sensation exploded, making him barely muffle a loud, almost pained moan, jerking his hips forward and thrusting a little bit more as he rode out the pleasurable sensation. The older raven also reached his limits, drowning out any noise into his pillow as he released into his friends hand, not sure what had happened.

B removed the hand that fondled the older raven and ignored it for the time being in favor of catching his breath. He glanced at his hand and through the haze, he played with the strange substance, noting that it was the same color and texture as the substance that was in his underwear from before. He rolled it in his fingers and gave it a sniff and made a face of disgust. The older detective had no energy to even lift his head to look and he didn't care. Such a good, yet strange feeling.

"This stuff... It's all over my hand..." he observed, playing with it some more.  
>"It smells the same as the stuff from before... I wonder if it came from me too?" he shuffled off the raven tiredly to dig into his boxers, feeling a similar substance from before. He dug a little of it out and gave it a smell before mixing the substances together.<br>"Strange..." he murmured. L nodded but was exhausted and disinterested by the entire thing.

He wiped off the milky substance onto the sheets and shuffled tiredly next to the older raven and closed his eyes. Despite having waken up not long ago, he was exhausted and welcomed the rest that came soon after. L didn't even have the strength to move then, simply falling asleep in the position that B left him in.


	17. Chapter 15

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 15

When B woke up about an hour later, he noted that A was in the space and that her face was contorted in disgust at the smell in the air. He didn't know why she originally showed up, but that had obviously changed.  
>"What is it A?"<p>

L shifted around and looked up at his friend, following his line of sight to their younger sister.  
>"A?"<br>"Oh god... the smell in here... it's absolutely foul! What were you guys doing in here? It smells disgusting!"  
>"What do you mean?" B tilted his head curiously.<br>"You don't smell it? It smells funny and strong. Ugh..."  
>"I'm not sure what you're talking about though Watari did send some of those Curry beans..." The cooks' special curry beans had been known to make the entire student body erupt with gas.<p>

"I know what bean gas smells like... and this does not smell like bean gas... It smells like... I don't know, but I don't like it... ew..."  
>"I am pretty sure it was the curry, but if we offend you so then feel free to leave..."<br>"I was actually supposed to leave you guys a message, but the smell made me forget... I'll have to go and refresh my memory, but for all that is good, go take a shower... you need one badly!" With that, she left from the immediate space.  
>"That was... odd..." B remarked with an emotionless gaze.<br>"We do smell..." the detective states. Even with what just happened being new and unexplainable, something told him they should keep it between the two of them.

"Why do you suppose that these good feelings always make us smell funny? Not to mention, it's tiresome, but it feels incredible... So much conflicting elements to it..." He was still feeling slightly buzzed and sensitive from the recent exploit, opting to stay where he was for a short while before getting up and starting the cleaning routine anew.  
>"I do not know..." the older raven mumbles, "but there is something about this that makes me think we should keep it between ourselves..."<p>

Hearing this almost disappoints the younger raven. He would like for A to know that his friend and he make each other feel good in this way, but common sense told him that perhaps it was not such a good thing after all. A would likely be even more disgusted at them than she was with their eating habits anyways. Maybe even more so if he proposed to make her feel good that way also; she was abused badly however and if it was in the same way he and Lawli made each other feel good, then that was a shame because then she'd never know how to feel good like them.

"At least until we understand what it is that we are doing..." the elder mumbled and bit his thumb, climbing out of bed and padding off towards the showers. B stood up and stripped the sheets off the bed, and tossed those into the hamper. There was still a little bit of the sticky fluid on his palm and he scraped it off into the nearest rubbish bin. He took clean clothes from the dresser and followed his friend whom he noted was now in the shower letting the water wash over him. He shrugged and stripped his clothes before setting the temperature and hopping inside before beginning his vigorous cleaning regiment.

L was yet again taking his time to get himself clean, seemingly letting the water put him into a trance as it washed over him. It didn't matter how hectic the day was, he always felt better under the water. As soon as the younger raven was as spotless as he let himself get, he turned the water off, shook the water from his hair before walking out and drying off his body with the towel provided. He walked out with towel around his waist and opted to dress nearest to the bed.

A would pad in to Beyond just pulling up his boxers and the elder raven still enjoying his shower, happy that the smell had finally gone. It wasn't too long before L once again returned to B's room, satisfied he was clean and dressed even though he wore only Beyond's grey boxers.

"Oh good! I'm glad to see you cleaned and the air isn't so foul smelling this time."  
>"Not a problem A, but you know Lawli and I's dislike for smelling bad. We would have showered regardless of when you showed up." The blonde girl scoffed before reminding herself of why she was here.<br>"B, Roger and Watari have some work booklets that they've compiled for you to catch up on. They encourage you to pick them up when you get out of here. L, Watari says that his training material for being a detective is nearly done. He says that as soon as the paperwork is completed, he will notify you right away."  
>"Good to hear," the elder raven mumbled and let his toes curl around each other.<br>"Does that mean Beyond can leave the hospital wing?"

"No... I asked Watari and he still wants him to stay another day as a precaution, but tomorrow looks promising for his leave." B frowned and huffed out a sigh.  
>"At least we still got those movies from the restricted area we can watch. We never finished the first one though from being so tired... At least I was anyways..."<br>"Alright I will put it on..." the detective mumbled and padded over to the TV, rewinding the video they had been to distracted to watch.  
>"I don't know if this is one that you could handle watching A, but if you are willing to, you are more than welcome to join us. We are watching 'The Godfather' series." B put on his jeans and dark grey shirt in the same style as the older ravens before running his fingers through his thick locks.<p>

L perched himself on the lounge in his usual way, gesturing for the other two to join him. B strolled and sat down next to the older raven's left side and motioned their sister to sit on the right side. A hesitated momentarily, but the rare opportunity to see something that was restricted to them was too tempting to pass up and she walked to sit next to her brothers as the film began anew.  
>"I'm hungry... I will order some food for us while the previews are going." B stood up and went to the intercom and pressed the corresponding button and ordered 2 cheesecake slices for L, Rice Pudding for himself and 2 chicken wraps for A. The stone eyed raven looked over to his friend and smiled. He seemed to know exactly what he was in the mood for.<p>

"Thank you Beyond!" A smiled and gave an appreciative wink that was returned, though not as strongly.  
>"No problem, you're both welcome..." He shuffled back and made himself comfy when the previews were ending.<br>"Since part of this will work towards you being a detective, Lawli, paying extra attention may be beneficial here..."  
>"I doubt it will be very educational..." the elder mumbled, letting his toes dance over each other.<p>

"You don't know that and you may be right or I may be right, but we will see..." B popped some joints back into place in his neck and lower back, finally freeing the tension from before that had accumulated.  
>"As long as there is cake involved, I'm not sure I care..." the sugar addict mumbled, feeling the urge to devour something sweet.<p>

A rolled her eyes at her older brothers, but appreciating the company regardless.  
>"Cake solves everything Lawli..." B teased, poking at the older raven's toes.<br>"Cake and strawberries..." the elder was almost drooling from the thoughts and images of his sugary treats.  
>"Your left wrist is now a strawberry," teased B, smiling when the older raven went to lick at it.<p>

The elder raven huffed loudly and curled up into his crouch even tighter. The wild raven wriggled the older raven from his tighter curl.  
>"You know that I am teasing you Lawli. A knows, right A?" The blonde girl didn't answer, but hid a smile from view.<br>"Let us try to enjoy the film with no distractions." Thankfully, the detective's cheesecakes arrived first. B reached around and grabbed the plate before handing it to his older counterpart.

L's eyes widened and he snatched away the spoon delicately between his thumb and forefinger, immediately helping himself to a tiny spoonful. B watched him eat for a short while before turning his attention back to the film. It seemed interesting enough as it progressed. He was dissecting the film later on for scrutiny. A's wraps were the next to arrive, the blonde girl taking them with a smile and a polite thanks. Now that was just unfair, but he knew his was on the way soon.

L noted the slight annoyance in his friend's features so the next spoonful of the soft cake found its way to Beyond's mouth. The younger raven's eyes widened, but he accepted the piece of cake and hummed in appreciation.  
>"Thank you Lawli..." he murmured shyly. It was then that Beyond's treat finally arrived and L turned his attentions back to his own plate. B was the only one the dark eyed raven would ever part with cake for willingly.<p>

The younger raven took a spoonful of his pudding and brought it to the future detective's mouth after the cake in his mouth was swallowed. He felt it only fair to return the favor after all. L gave a warm smile at the gesture and ate the little blob happily. There was one good thing about B being sick, they could spend all day together.

In a rare gesture virtually unfathomable, at least where A was concerned, B spooned more pudding and offered it to her. It was a show of trust in a way that only B knew how to show it. A wasn't sure what to think at first, but after a moment something told her to open her mouth and take the little blob. The full significance was lost on her but L and B both understood the meaning.

B smiled warmly before at last feeding himself, humming in contentment as the semi-solid passed his lips. He turned his attention back to the movie, finding it to be surprisingly good, if a little too cliché in the way that Hollywood tends to make them. It was thought provoking though and that earned it brownie points in his opinion. L also didn't mind the movie, though much of his mind was off else where. He wanted to get back to classes, for things to return to normal yet with a job they never would...

The wild raven glanced at his friend, seeing him there, but not there, internally impatient. He had an idea of what he was waiting for, but knew that would not come to pass until tomorrow. He was eager to return to his studies, the other students were not his top priority as they never were, but regardless, it would be great to be out of here. He was grateful that his friend never left his side though, that was a bright spot in his mind.

"Tomorrow... We can get fresh air once more..." L didn't mind being cooped up in his room for long periods of time but even he was at his limits.  
>"Yes... it has been rather stifling in here for the past week. I'd like to actually be interactive again for once..." He spooned more of the pudding into his mouth and licked away the excess. The future detective nods slowly. They would have to do something to celebrate their freedom!<p>

The younger raven looks at his friend and seeing the gears turning in his head. What was he planning if he was planning anything at all? It could be anything. He was up for anything. He would meet his plans head-on. B looks to A who was riveted on the screen. It was in the process of planning that an idea seeped into his mind that was so simple it was a wonder that he had not thought of it before! With there restricted licenses they could enter the section of the library and find out what they had been doing that was so pleasurable.

The movie was now towards its conclusion and B had let himself be lost in it with their sister. The other half of his mind was still wondering what was going on in his friend's head, curiosity too strong, but reserving it in case it was something that should not be spoken around A. The young girl yawned and stretched as the credits rolled, making herself comfortable again after so long hunched over staring at the screen.  
>"Thick shakes anyone?" she chirped, L's eyes immediately lighting up and becoming wide like the full moon on a cloudless night.<br>"If they are strawberry flavored, I'm all for it A." B grinned before copying his sister and popping some joints back into place.

"Alright I'll be back in a few minutes and we can watch the second movie!" she chirped and almost danced out the door. It was clear to both ravens that she was really getting into the movies.  
>"This puts a hold on whatever was going through your mind, doesn't it Lawli?" The younger raven finishes his pudding and sighs in satisfaction.<p>

"I was just thinking..." the stone eyed raven mumbles and turns his gaze to his friend and his now empty bowl.  
>"Perhaps we can find out about the 'good feeling' in the restricted section of the library..."<br>"It might ruin it if we found out... it might not be as fun or enjoyable..." He nibbles on an index finger.  
>"The fun is exploring each other and finding where we make those neat sounds and what makes us react the way we do..."<br>"I suppose..." the elder mumbles and puts the last spoonful of sugary sweet cake into his mouth. "I worry I may hurt you however..."

"What are you going to do that is going to hurt me? If I am in pain, I will let you know... I ask that you do the same for me in return. I like making you feel good Lawli. I like exploring you now. Your new puzzle pieces are fun to find and figure out..."  
>"As you wish..." the detective mumbled, his flat voice not giving away the excitement that Beyond knew was hiding there.<p>

The younger raven smiled weakly before pulling the older into a brief kiss on the lips, parting from it not long before A showed up again with 3 thick milkshakes. He still had the older in a hug, but didn't try to hide it as such.  
>"Welcome back A..."<br>L couldn't help but smile and blush then, not out of embarrassment, but surprise at the brief kiss.

"Hey! I hope you enjoy these shakes, I put the right mix for the both of you!" A trotted to the pair and handed out both, noting that L was grinning and blushing.  
>"What's got you all flushed and happy L?"<br>"Strawberries!" He quickly took the shake, locking it between his knees and taking a long slurp through the straw. A had put real strawberries as well as strawberry ice cream in it and it tasted, to L, perfect.

B took a large sip of his and got a brain freeze. He hissed and held his head.  
>"Ouch! The cold went into my head!"<br>A laughed lightly sitting down next to her brothers.  
>"I hate that!"<br>"That never happens to me..." the future detective mumbles and tilts his head to the side, trying to picture what it would be like.

"It hurts the brain a little..." He winced and held his head, trying to will the slight pain away before taking another, less intense sip of the confection.  
>"You have an iron will Lawli, nothing gets by you."<br>"Perhaps I am simply well practiced..." the detective mumbled, watching as A gets up and turns on the second of the movies for them.

"Not practiced enough to fool me yet though. I can still see through some of your walls so far..." He gave a small smirk that he hid with another sip of the milkshake. The older raven became so involved in his drink and the movie he did not reply, though he did not feel the need anyway.

The wild raven had even managed to keep his attention on the film, engaging A in a short debate at certain points in the plot. The second movie was not as engaging as the first, but it still beat out boredom.  
>"It's not as good..." the detective stated out of the blue towards the end when both A and B had assumed he would remain quiet the entire time.<p>

The wild raven nodded in agreement before noting the time, seeing it starting to get close to curfew for the students in the dorms.  
>"Perhaps it is time that you be heading back A. It is getting late..."<br>"Yeah..." The youngest mumbled and stretched herself out.  
>"I guess I will be seeing you later then... I want to visit T before I go..."<br>"Say hello for us..." L mumbled softly, once again reminded of the kindly girl in the next room...  
>"See you tomorrow A. I need to get things back in order with my live prey... remove the dead and hunt for more..." It was a promising venture, but he'd also have to squeeze in his studies.<p>

"You are still going to be on bed rest Beyond..." the detective reminds his friend in his usual matter-of-fact way.  
>"I do not know how wise it would be to be out chasing mice in your condition..."<br>"But Griffin will not be able to stand another day eating industrial shit... She probably hates me right now..." He huffs out a disappointed sigh.  
>"At least she knows that we care about her. I rather miss that cat..."<p>

He wastes no time and strips down to his boxers and gets out his night clothes. He notices that the caretaker has already changed the bedding while they were distracted with the film and smiles to himself, happy to have a clean bed again.  
>"I assure you that she does not hate you..." The stone eyed raven mumbles, "she is simply spoiled and can live off canned food if she has to... she will probably be glad to see us again..."<p>

B smiles and goes to get into his bed when he suddenly collapses onto his knees, his weakened lungs had not received their medicine and got his breathing acting up again. He holds his chest and wheezes, keeping his eyes closed and getting himself calmed. L quickly rushes to his friends side, crouching down next to him and rubbing his back in slow soothing circles.  
>"You forgot to take your puffer again." It wasn't a question as much as a straight forward statement.<p>

B nods, motioning the elder raven for to get his medicine for him. It was always the same chest pain when his lungs failed on him, akin to what he assumed a heart attack might feel like. The stone eyed raven goes to the bed side table and after a brief search, finds his friend's puffer and brings it to him. He crouches down and helps his friend sit up and lean back against his chest comfortably.

B takes the puffer and gives it a shake before taking a much welcomed breath of the medicine before waiting for its effect on him. He coughs lightly before setting the medicine next to him and leaning back and taking even breaths. L slowly rubs his friends chest to help him breath, keeping silent and waiting for his friend to recover. He hated seeing Beyond like this, but it was all he could do to help him recover.

After a short while, B moves himself away and puts the medicine back. He stands up, only slightly shaken before completing the simple task he set himself up to do. He takes some more calming breaths before looking more or less back to normal again.  
>"I'm fine Lawli... Promise."<br>"I trust you..." the detective mumbles, but in his mind he wasn't so sure.

The wild raven leaves the bed to give his friend a tender kiss on the lips.  
>"I'm still here. Today is not my day obviously... when that day comes... I hope you join me..." He cups his face and gives him another soft kiss before sitting on the bed, waiting for sleep to take over him. L nods and smiles sadly.<br>"I will finish whatever you have left to do in this world then I will join you... You won't have to worry about anything..." The elder promises and crawls up on the bed next to his friend.

The scarlet eyed raven smiles before leaning his head on the older's shoulder before turning his attention to it and placing the softest of kisses there. L shivered once more though this time decided to put a stop to the actions.  
>"Rest..." the elder purred and started stroking his friends neck softly.<br>"You're not well..."  
>"I was never well Lawli... You know that more than anyone. If you still want answers... by all means, you may find out, but I don't want to ruin the fun..." He leans into the touch, but does not lay down just yet, trying to will sleep over his person. He knew it was there, but when it was out of his reach, it was bothersome.<p>

"I will not spoil it for us Beyond, but until you're well any and all exhausting exercise will cease... that includes... whatever we did before..."  
>"Whatever it is, it feels good. It makes you let out these really cute sounds... I like hearing them from you." He smiles softly and closes his eyes, enjoying the attention to his neck.<br>"I know..." The future detective mumbled and kissed his friend's forehead affectionately.  
>"And we can do it again when you're well..."<br>"Lawli... kissing does not take a lot of energy... can we do that for a while?" He blushes a little at this request that came out.

L buries his head in his friends neck and softly starts kissing the tender flesh in a wordless response to his friends request. The younger raven closes his eyes and enjoys the attention, breath shuddering a little and feeling tingling sensations from the attention to his neck. He returns the favor with his own gentle kisses to equally sensitive skin, nuzzling the familiar patch of flesh with the same adoration from before their curiosity got the better of them. He brings an arm up and pulls the older into a gentle embrace.

The panda eyed boy closes his eyes and enjoys the soft, buzzing it creates in his body and mind, but this time keeps himself calm enough to stop the heat and curiosity from returning and claiming them yet again. B stops the attention to simply grab the older raven's face and place small, tender kisses to the cheeks and lips. There is a familiar heat, but he promised he would not go that far and ignores it.

Beyond's attentions make him relax unbelievably, becoming completely at ease with everything around him and starting to hum his soft song once more. The tune itself would become so ingrained into his friend's mind that it would come to have great meaning.

The younger raven absorbs the song whole heartedly, feeling the tune lull him into tiredness. He continues to kiss the older raven softly before at last parting when the tune had seemingly reached its end.  
>"Thank you Lawli..." It was spoken softly and almost shyly. He gives one last kiss to the forehead before finally laying down, pulling the older with him for a cuddle.<br>"You're welcome Beyond..." With that L pulls the blankets over his friend and himself, curling up comfortably with the other for the night.


	18. Chapter 16

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 16

Two months had passed since Beyond's surgery and the untimely discovery of some very unfamiliar, but pleasant new sensations that the now detective-in-training and his friend had discovered. They were good about keeping their new secret lives well hidden, but that did not stop the rumors that were fueled by their elusiveness. Beyond had begun to experiment with the natural plants, finding ways to harness their potency for medicines and natural means to rid people of certain vermin. He started to collaborate his efforts with A, who was now marketing her successful medicine to hospitals and pharmaceutical establishments with the request to make them available for a very affordable price.

L was under Watari's tutelage for the whole time, his knowledge in the criminal field was in fact above the expectations of the orphanage's founder. It would seem that in no time at all, L could begin to take his own cases, but he would be the one to determine and pace the requests he made so that the future pride and joy would not be so overburdened. Things it seemed, were going into the right direction for the ravens and their sister.

L had spent a full night contemplating whether or not to take his first, solo criminal case. Beyond seemed to think he was ready as did he though it was his adopted father that didn't seem as sure.  
>"I will request that case today."<br>"If you feel you are ready for it, go ahead and request one. We both know that Watari sent several requests out. He's just old and he cares too much and does not want to see you make mistakes, but we both know that it will never happen." Despite the support, B was still very apprehensive about this path his friend had taken. He'd been apprehensive about it since the older raven made the request to be one those months ago. He was not going to stop being there for him however and decided a long time ago to not bring it up.

"Thank you..." the soon to be detective replied, letting his toes curl up over one another.  
>"I am curious as to what it will be like, to be the youngest ever detective..."<br>"What are you talking about Lawli?" B chuckled wholeheartedly.  
>"You were ALWAYS the world's youngest detective. This is going to be a piece of Strawberry Cheesecake for you." His expression went a little more serious.<br>"This is a whole new game though Lawli and this is your task and your task alone. I will not be a pawn to help you reveal aliases. I will do that on a voluntary basis. I want to see your mind working hard." He gave his friend a peck on the cheek and smiled again.  
>"I understand..." he smiled and stroked a stray hair from his friends eyes.<br>"Let's go."

The younger raven stood up and followed his companion to Watari's office. He had to admit, this was exciting! His friend could start taking cases today if their father let him. He would though, Lawli was smart enough after all. He looked on as the older raven knocked on the door that was answered by their father who appeared to be tweaking something.  
>"Ah, welcome you two, you are just in time. I have something I wish to show you. Mind you it still has some bugs to it, but once it is complete, I plan to use it for L later on."<br>"What is it Watari?" the elder of the pair asked curiously, wondering what his genius mentor had cooked up for them.

The elder male motions the pair inside where his desk was covered with wires of varying lengths and thicknesses. Also in the mess were some audio devices that were broken apart. Aside from everything else were a pair of two way radios, one of which was being dissected and the other was normal.  
>"I am working on a method to distort your voice so that you do not sound like you are 12 years old. This voice distortion device will scramble at two tones, effectively disguising how you sound. I am still tweaking it though. When it is done, I will carry the normal radio with me and all you have to do is speak into your end."<p>

"That is very clever Watari..." the soon to be detective mumbled, pressing down the button on the half finished voice distorter and speaking into the microphone.  
>"I am L." The speaker made him sound like some kind of alien, but definitely disguised his age.<br>"The voice is still too garbled to be recognizable, but give me a few days and this device should work perfectly. Now then... what brings you both here?"  
>"I wish to take a case myself," the stone eyed raven stated confidently.<br>"You told me to tell you when I was ready and I feel that it is time."

"Perhaps you are... I will start you off with 3 minor cases. I have the paper work. Turn them into me when you are done." The elder male walks to a filing cabinet and removes 3 small folders with separate cases.  
>"Starting you off small will allow me to see where I should let you go."<br>"Small is fine by me, I don't want it to interfere with my studies too much until I am confident I have completed them to a satisfactory level..." he mumbled and took the cases from their adopted father, opening the one on the top. It was a bank robbery, no one was hurt and no money was successfully taken though they took of and could not be apprehended. It seemed minor though next time they may indeed be successful or worse yet manage to injure or kill someone... in the files where several photos, witness statements and sketches as well as hair and fiber evidence, even a set of tire tracks.

"These are open cases. When you are confident enough to handle more time-wise cases, I will let you have one. I had accepted that you would eventually approach me more confidently, that is why I am willing to part with these so easily. The guilty parties for these cases are still at large, but are not expected to get more violent than what's been listed here."

L flipped through the other two quickly. The second was an attempted mugging where the women beat her attacker quite badly and he fled the scene, the last case was a shoplifter who continues to steal more and more expensive merchandise.  
>"These will be no problem for me Watari..."<br>"I am glad to hear it. Run along now, I have some things that need attending to." B nodded, having never left the proximity of the doorway.  
>"Alright, I will have these back to you soon," he mumbled back and shuffled out the door back to his room.<p>

"I trust that you'll do an exceptional job L. As soon as I can allow you to openly communicate with the proper authorities, you will remain silent and fully anonymous."  
>B was smiling proudly for his friend seeing the folders in hand, effectively masking his growing apprehension and worry.<br>"You've done it, and Watari was even willing to part with a few for you." This was cause for celebration!  
>"Once I am done we will have to go to the tree and have some of A's jelly," the detective stated as they left the little office.<br>"Hopefully this means we can get the room with the bath tub now; I hear it is free now that J has moved on and F was moved to a smaller room by himself."

The prospect of a bath was indeed very tempting to the younger raven. Showers were fun though, but to bathe, that was something else entirely.  
>"I want to get you something from the towns if you are willing to sneak out with me. I have been saving some money for just this reason. I'll make it worth your while if you went with me."<br>"Alright, we can as soon as I am done for the day." The shops in the town all closed late tonight.

The wild raven nodded before continuing to follow the older to their next destination, which just happened to be Biology, a favorite of his.  
>"I suppose this means I can work on this during Biology rather then drop the subject completely..." although working did mean he was allowed to drop up to an entire days worth of classes a week.<br>"Yeah, you can pretty much work this class. You are caught up in the studies after all. I still got a week to catch up however so I have no choice but to show up in here..." He strolls inside calmly and takes a seat near the back of the class, ignoring the whispers as he'd done for years.

L takes his usual seat at his friend's side, opening the first file and combing through every speck of evidence. B started the textbook work, thumbing through page after familiar page, having memorized the entire thing. He listened to the teacher and answered when asked to, but one of his enemies, the one named Y was being particularly bothersome, tossing little bits of paper that were making him annoyed. He forced calm over himself and continued despite the teasing.

L had become so completely absorbed by the file that by the time the bell rang to end the class he was finished and ready to report his findings to Watari. He has every right to be confident, as in an hour he had solved a case the police couldn't in a week.  
>"Come with me to see Watari..."<p>

The younger raven nods, but not before confronting Y on the matter.  
>"What was that all about? Why can't you learn to act like a more responsible person rather than pulling off these idiotic pranks like some petulant child?"<br>"What in the world are you talking about B? You're hallucinating as always." B's gaze goes almost stone calm for a long moment. Y scoffs and turns around, which turned out to be the wrong move before the wild raven tackled him and began his assault.  
>"You are fucking lying Y! Take it back this instant!"<p>

L grabs his friends shirt and pulls him back off of the already bleeding boy.  
>"S-stop!" he ordered, trying to calm his friend. Unfortunately for B, there were plenty of witnesses to his violent assault on Y; the teacher immediately leaving to notify Roger presumably.<br>"Let me go! I'm not finished with him! He's a fucking liar! YOU ALL ARE!" His red eyes seemed more feral than they normally appeared to be, setting some of the students on edge.  
>"Calm down Beyond..." he soothed and tried to lead his friend away.<br>"Let's go see Watari."

B was still glaring hard and breathing heavily, his fists were bloody and his entire demeanor spoke of revenge on the other. He nodded and let himself be led away, glaring hard at anyone who dared to look at him funny. L led his friend away, shielding him from further insults. Eventually the stone eyed raven led his friend into their adopted father's office.

Watari was still tweaking the voice distortion device when his sons walked inside. He noticed immediately that the younger of the pair was visibly upset and had blood on his hands and still looking tense. He stopped what he was working on and approached the pair.  
>"My word... what has happened to you Beyond?" The younger raven only glared and diverted his gaze. The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps from further down the hallway gave him an idea as to what transpired.<br>"He attacked one of the other students who spent the entire class harassing us..." the fledgling detective explained.

Watari makes a noise in his throat and is about to say something when a very upset Roger walked inside.  
>"Do you realize how serious this is Quillish? He openly assaulted another student in public! You do realize the consequences of this are, right?" Watari clears his throat before speaking.<br>"I was informed that the reason for this assault was on the grounds that the victim was harassing Beyond. There are probably several students who knew that the victim was doing wrong and did nothing to stop it from happening."  
>"This is the 3rd time so far that these attacks have occurred. He even assaulted a female doctor for crying out loud!"<br>"Beyond is sensitive to certain actions and reactions from others. He acts defensively to them as such."  
>"You cannot be seriously defending him from this? This is grounds for expulsion!"<p>

The future pride of Wammy's pulled his friend into a tight embrace.  
>"I have suggested over and over again that he be tutored in private!" he defends.<br>"The other students openly insult and humiliate us on a regular basis and you do nothing but talk about how it might be fixed and still they continue! If you want to expel someone expel H or Y or even S!"

The younger raven closes his eyes and his mind, retreating to a quieter place, playing L's soft tune in his head to put him at ease.  
>"There is simply not enough students who want private tutoring for me to allow it. That does not excuse Beyond from assaulting these students, with or without cause. If you are not going to expel him, the I suggest a long term punishment until he atones for his crimes."<br>"You cannot punish him for defending himself when you won't!" L snaps.

Watari intervenes before this gets out of hand.  
>"There is a serious issue within these walls that neither of us can control at once L. I need to have a long discussion about this with Roger as soon as you tell me the reason you came in here originally."<br>"Yes.. We do need to discuss several things Quillish because this has gone too far. You cannot simply continue to favor these boys and protect them forever!" This sets off a nerve in the younger raven.  
>"YOU FAVOR EVERYONE ELSE OVER US! YOU HATE US!"<p>

"Shhh..." L soothes and slowly rubs his friends back, humming softly to him.  
>"I came because I solved your case," he huffs, annoyed at everyone for not protecting his friend the way he thought they should.<br>"Here." He throws the files down on his adopted fathers desk.  
>"Thank you L. I will ask that you leave here. We want to avoid further conflict here as it is." The scarlet eyed boy shivers under the older raven's touch, but nods, wanting to be out of here as soon as possible.<p>

L quickly leads his friend back to there room quickly, sitting him down on the bed and crouching down to look his friend in the eyes.  
>"You need to calm down," he mumbles.<br>"I cannot defend you forever and I don't want to lose you..."  
>"I-I'm s-sorry Lawli... I d-don't know what came over me... honest..." He frowns and sniffles, closing his eyes and letting a few tears fall.<br>"I-I was scared... I-I s-saw myself... b-but I could n-not st-stop..."

"Please try not to do that again," the elder asks quietly.  
>"I know it's not easy, they pick on me to, but there are consequences to violence."<br>"I-I l-lose control of m-myself... I-I'm sc-scared I'll d-do it a-again..." He wipes his eyes with a sleeve, but keeps them closed.  
>"I'm n-not h-healthy... I-I'm sick..."<br>"Don't worry... We will work this out somehow," the elder promises whole heartedly, pulling his friend into a hug.

The wild raven shudders and sniffles while in the embrace of the older.  
>"I d-don't want t-to be re-removed... I-I want t-to stay with y-you..." He opens his eyes and looks at the reminder of what he'd done and shudders more.<br>"They can't separate us, you are adopted by Watari personally, the most they can do is remove you from the house and you would have to live with Watari.  
>"I don't want to leave your side Lawli..." He leans into the younger raven for a while before deciding that he'd better clean himself.<br>"I... I should take a shower... I don't want to see blood on my hands anymore..."

The elder nodded and let his friend go; he knew Watari would be here any moment and it would be better if the blood was gone when he did. The scarlet eyed youth stripped down and tossed his clothes into the hamper and fished out new clothes, making sure not to get blood on them before setting them on his bed and grabbing his towel. He enters the bathroom and shuts the door, locking it behind him.

L perched himself on his chair in his usual position and waits patiently for Beyond. It would only be a few minutes later that their adopted father would knock and let himself in.  
>"Watari..."<br>"L. I had a lengthy discussion with Roger regarding the incident that happened with B and Y. I managed to get Roger to better understand yours and his situation as to why you are the subject of so much ridicule. Roger determined that it would be best if Y and S were removed because they were slacking. He is keeping H here because he is still a hard worker. As for B, I agreed to a compromise for his assaults."  
>In the bathroom, B was curled in on himself in the shower, watching almost mesmerized as the blood slowly trailed down the drain.<p>

"And this compromise is?" the elder asked, a slightly worried expression on his usually emotionless features.  
>"It is nothing too serious L, I assure you. He will spend weekends with Roger in the detention room and write one page reports on his behavior. B might not like it because it is his crime and Roger does not wish for you to join him. Essentially, he will be doing this alone."<br>"That will cause his aggression to escalate and you both know it!" the detective huffed.  
>"Roger is trying to set him off!"<p>

"This is upsetting to you and it will be to Beyond as well, but that is the compromise as it stands. I cannot back down from it now that it has been agreed upon." The younger raven finally walks out, nude except for a towel and having a tense expression on his face.  
>"I'm not going to see Roger on the weekends Watari... I'm not! I don't care! I was provoked and Y got what he deserved! I will not apologize for defending myself!"<br>"Beyond..." L mumbles sadly, "there may be no way out of this..."

"NO! I don't want to see Roger! He's a fucking bastard! NO! NO! NO!" He nabs his clothes and retreats back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut and locking it again.  
>"Beyond..." L looks up at there adopted father sadly.<br>"I'm sorry... He just really doesn't like Roger..."

The elderly male brings a hand to his neck and lets out a slow, even breath.  
>"I will try to reason with Roger. If I can work out a compromise that will not distress Beyond, then I will work with that. I will try to have him spend his detentions at my home instead, but that is all I can do right now."<br>In the bathroom, B is laying on his side on the floor, tears falling and holding his clothes to himself as if they were a security blanket.

"Thank you Watari..." the elder gave his adopted father a small smile of appreciation.  
>"Everyone is trying to cast him as the bad guy, when he is simply protecting himself..."<br>"His method to protect himself is rather violent though, but again... I will see what I can do. I will return as soon as I have a much more equal treatment for him." The elder male takes his leave not long after.

"Watari..." the elder asks just before his adopted father can leave, "the case... You read my report?"  
>"I was in heavy discussion with Roger. I apologize, but I will let you know at the soonest possible time. I will send your findings to the appropriate authorities when I've reviewed your report. The reward from these 3 cases will go into a savings and trust fund. You will have all access to the funds at any time. The same applies to A with the funding she has earned from her medical discovery. Just ask me is all." He smiles.<br>"Is there anything else L?"  
>B finally dresses into his clothes, although slowly.<p>

"Can you have our dinner brought here tonight?" he asked slowly.  
>"I'd rather not take B out again..."<br>"Yes, of course." He bows politely before at last taking his leave. A few minutes passed before B at last walked outside, looking entirely upset with everything and himself. He barely gets out of the bathroom before closing the door and leaning heavily against it and sliding to the floor.

"Are you alright?" the stone eyed raven asks. The younger raven shakes his head slowly before falling to his side on the floor and curling into himself.  
>"I'm just making things difficult Lawli... I should just leave..."<br>"No..." L mumbled, slowly laying down on the floor next to him and looking him in the eyes seriously.  
>"You and I are partners remember?"<br>"I'm just putting you into danger by sticking around..." He tries to divert his gaze, only to find his face was held firmly. He closes his eyes instead.  
>"I never got to sneak you out yet either..."<p>

"We promised we would never leave each other," the detective mumbles.  
>"That whenever the other called we would come running. We will always be together."<br>"Then for tonight... Let us get away from here... I don't want to be in this orphanage right now. Let us pack blankets and sleep in the hideout... just as long as it's not in here..."  
>"Let's wait until after inspection, we shouldn't risk being caught with you already in trouble.<p>

The younger raven huffs, but nods. He edges closer to the older raven before cuddling on the floor, burying his nose in the other's neck in an attempt to calm himself down.  
>"It's going to be alright." L stated confidently, wrapping his arms around his young friend protectively.<p>

Time passes before Watari knocks on the door and lets himself inside with two plates of food. He gazes at the pair and smiles, glad to see that there is comforting going on. He is wordless coming in as he is going out. Unheard to him were a number of softly spoken apologies against the older boy's neck.  
>"It's alright Beyond..." the elder offered his friend a soft kiss for comfort.<p>

B softly cries against the older raven's shoulder for a short while before the smell of the food reaches his nose. He does not make a move to get up just yet, finding comfort in the warm embrace.  
>"Are you hungry?" L asked quietly, wondering if the food would help him to feel better.<br>"After we eat we can sneak out..."  
>"A little..." he managed. He parted from the embrace and got himself into a seated position, looking far too glum.<br>"After room checks though, remember?" He stands up weakly before shuffling at a slow pace to the food available and takes a plate before playing with his food.

The stone eyed raven follows his friend, taking his own plate and miserably becomes rather disinterested with the food offered. After not touching the food available for some time, B set his plate down, not feeling up to eating anything.  
>"I'm not hungry anymore Lawli..." He puts the plate back before stripping himself of his shirt and hiding it under his bed to take out again.<br>"I understand..." he mumbles back but puts a small fork full of mash potato in his mouth, trying to set a good example.  
>"But you should eat at least a little..."<p>

B stares at the food like it was some sort of dangerous poison for a long time before at last taking the plate again with a sigh and scooping out some peas and sticking them inside his mouth, making a disgusted face as he did so. L wasn't enjoying his food either but somehow he managed to keep a straight face just this once so his friend could not use his reactions as an excuse to not finish.

Slowly, but reluctantly, half the food went away before he set the plate aside once more, deciding he'd eaten enough for one sitting.  
>"I'm done," he declared at last, not liking the heavy feeling in his gut. L repeated his friends actions, climbing up onto his bed next to him and pulling him into a warm, comforting hug.<p>

The younger raven closed his eyes and leaned into the embrace.  
>"Not long now Lawli... I just want it to be us tonight... I don't care what anyone else thinks."<br>"Hopefully Watari will be the one to do our room check," the elder mumbled softly.  
>"I don't want to deal with Roger..."<br>"You and me both... Hopefully he'll even have a better compromise that will not involve me being anywhere near him... I hate Roger... I really do hate him..." B gave L a gentle kiss on the cheek in gratitude.  
>"Thank you for always being there regardless of how much I hate myself sometimes... You're a true friend, ever since day one."<p>

The stone eyed raven smiled softly at the gesture from his younger friend.  
>"It's because I love you Beyond..."<br>B blushed and hid his face into the older's chest.  
>"I... I love you too Lawli..."<br>"Alright let's get into bed before they come around..." the detective mumbled, knowing it wouldn't be long until someone started the room checks.

The younger raven nods before slinking off to his bed, but not changing from his pants. He wanted to get out of the house this evening so he didn't bother to alter his clothes much, not that there would be a difference without them. L lay down in his bed and pulled the covers over himself, hiding the fact he was still fully clothed. He would have to put something warmer on before they went out.

There was a knock at the door before one of the other teachers opened the door to check up on the boys and their room, determining that it was clean before taking her leave and closing the door behind her. B opened his eyes after the door closed and waited a few minutes, ensuring that no one else was returning before climbing out of bed and taking out his shirt and putting it back on.  
>"When should we sneak out Lawli?" he whispered when he saw the older raven had done the same.<p>

"We should wait until the hall lights are turned off," the elder mumbles, sneaking out of bed and putting on a thick jumper and changing his jeans for more comfortable, thick, blue track pants. "It is going to be cold tonight out there so we should be mindful to bring enough to keep us warm..."

Scarlet eyes looked to the older raven and his head nods slowly. He goes to his drawer and pulls free a warmer hooded sweater and removing his pants to pull on sweat pants of a similar style as the older boy. He removes his blankets from the bed and rolls that tightly to allow for easier transport.  
>"I'm all set... Now we wait..."<br>L nodded and crouched down to the floor and watched the small stream of light under the door. It wouldn't be long before it disappeared.

The younger raven held his breath and waited... and waited. About 8 minutes passed before the hallway lights finally turned off. B looked to L, the numbers above his head slightly illuminating the area around his head as they danced.  
>"I think that it should be OK to leave right about now..." he whispered.<br>"Give it another ten minutes..." L mumbled and got to his feet slowly, putting his hand on the door knob. He wanted to make sure everyone was out of the halls.

B crouched low to the crack under the door, hoping that chance would favor his gift in spotting stray numbers. He peaked out as much as the gap would allow, spotting a stray set of numbers belonging to one of the new additions as he trotted quickly down the hallways in to one of the open dorm rooms. He kept his vision tuned this way until he was sure no one else had passed by.

"Are we clear?" L knew that Beyond had the ability to spot people and animals, even in complete darkness. B stood up slowly and used his friend's grip on the door to open it and peak outside, looking both ways.  
>"It seems clear, but I'll lead the way out of here. I can see a little better in the dark..."<p>

L still wasn't sure how but it wouldn't matter how dark it got Beyond could always find his way, the ambient glow of the small and normally unnoticed animals would slightly light his way where the older raven was left in darkness.

The wild raven picked his way slowly, looking in every direction, spotting numbers from the small insects to aid in his path. He had a firm grip on his friend's hand, making sure not to let go. He paused at a corner and looked around it, spotting Roger's name and numbers almost uncomfortably close. He decided that it would still be safe to proceed and quickly sneaked on by. He paused on the other side to see that the older male had his eyes looking in his direction, but his old eyes were too frail to see anything. He turned his attention back to the hallways, spotting numbers from a few mice that indicated that they were in the vicinity of the kitchen; not far to go from there.

L kept quiet, the hall was far to dark for him to see much of anything and being the night of the new moon it would be even darker outside. He held onto his friends hand tightly, not wanting to get lost outside in the dark. Scarlet eyes looked in every direction until he'd reached the main doors at last. He looked behind him, noting no change around him. He carefully opens the door with one hand and opens it just enough to allow his friend and himself out. He closed the door just as silently before taking his friend's hand again and looking to the ground, seeing a small sea of random numbers moving about, mostly rodents at this hour. It was more than sufficient to get him to the opening to the fence where he motioned his friend under first before following suit.

The detective cast his gaze about hopelessly. Under the cover of the trees nothing could be seen and it was almost frightening. B dusted his knees and blankets off before taking his friend's hand again. As if sensing his friend's apprehension, he gives the older a comforting hug.  
>"I know where I'm going. It's alright Lawli." He looked at the face that was slightly illuminated and gave a peck to the cheek before gazing at the much larger sea of numbers, his path to the hideout was as bright as day.<br>"Come one then, we are almost there."

"How is it you can see in this darkness?" To L, it was as though his eyes where completely shut and he was being lead along blind. He trusted B, but that didn't stop him from tripping over and falling to the ground. The younger raven halted to lift his friend up.  
>"Do you remember the fairies and how I said that they would all die at the same time? I see the numbers of all living things that move. I am looking into these woods and I see it almost as bright as day from the numbers. For some reason, they can slightly light up the area around them."<p>

"Their life spans..." L mumbled getting to his feet and following behind his friend again.  
>"They light the dark?" Somehow the idea of a million numbers everywhere even in the dark seemed as though it would be blinding to the elder who enjoyed the peace that darkness brought.<br>"Yes... It's a fascinating thing, but hopefully the paint and the dust used will have kept the hideout pest free." He leads the older raven once again along the familiar path, seeing the sea of numbers move as they moved. Thankfully it was insects and rodents this night and nothing bigger. He grinned when the hideout entrance was in sight, the unfinished door carving he placed there was sealing the entrance. He let go of his friend's arm to remove the door.  
>"I'll be right back with a flashlight then you can come in."<p>

The stone eyed raven nodded and hugged himself, still trying to make out where they were in the endless darkness. The wild eyed raven picked his way through the large space before finding what he was looking for and turned on the flashlight. He walked back outside with flashlight on and smiled at his friend.  
>"It was pretty clear inside, I had to dig around for the flashlight." He hands the device to his friend and returned inside, preparing to make a nesting area with the blankets, shivering slightly at the cooler air as he finally registered it.<p>

L finally was able to look around, seeing frost starting to form on the leaves. It was going to get cold, very cold. The stone eyed raven burrowed into the little whole after a moment, seeing B had already set out a blanket on the floor to stop the cold.  
>"The insulation from the layered rugs is more than enough, but better to be safe than sorry. I just need to seal the entrance." He gets up and makes his way back to the entrance and pulls the wooden slab back over the entry way. He shuffles back and proceeds to complete the 'nest' until it is satisfactory to him.<p>

As predicted the temperature dropped rapidly, sending shivers through the older ravens entire body.  
>"C-cold..." he managed, backed up against the wall of their burrow.<p>

"We need a way to warm this space for longer... I'll find something for next time..." He beckons the older raven to the blankets and crawls underneath them, burying himself completely. It was warmer, but still a little cooler than he'd like.  
>"Come in here. We can share body heat and stay burrowed."<p>

L nodded and proceeded to dig into the warmer nest, curling up next to his friend.  
>"If we lined the walls with newspaper it would be warmer..."<p>

"If we can get our hands on foam, that would be even better... Better yet, newspaper and foam, that will keep this space warmer for sure..." He snuggles up to his friend and holds him close, feeling the other's body heat radiating outward. It warmed up a little more, but it was still a little cooler than he'd like. Perhaps staying this way might work out. He looks into his friend's eyes with the numbers as they appeared and leaned in to place soft kisses to a cool cheek.

The elder gave a soft smile and warped his arms around the wild eyed male, flicking off the flashlight and sending them both into deep darkness.

"Lawli..." he whispered, pausing from his attentions to the older boy's cheek. He lets an arm trail down the older raven's side and back up again.  
>"I think I know how to make this area warm enough for us to sleep..." He returns his attention to the older raven's cheek and smiles.<p>

"Oh?" the dark eyed raven was 99% sure he knew what Beyond was talking about though the younger ravens unpredictability left a margin of error that left him unwilling to speak until he was certain.

"I think we have to generate heat somehow... but I'm kinda stumped... A would know how to solve this dilemma perhaps..." He sidles closer and decides to breath onto the neck of the older raven for a short while.


	19. Mature 3

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

A/N: Mature content

Mature Part 3

A shiver runs up and down L's spine, but this one isn't from the cold. He was sure the younger raven would want to try their fun, personal thing again, whether it was a good idea or not.  
>"That seems to have worked…"mused B.<br>"Your body temperature increased slightly..." He sneaks a cool hand into the raven's jumper and under a shirt to rub the skin there, moving in a random pattern, feeling it get warmer gradually.

Unconsciously the tired eyed raven pulled his friend in even closer, wanting to feel more of his body against his own. B was only slightly taken aback by this, but continued rubbing the skin on the torso until he deemed it warm enough. He adjusted himself slightly and wormed his hand down to a thigh and repeated the action. A small gasp escaped into the darkness and the elder slowly started letting his hands wander over his friends back, sliding under his shirt enjoying the soft feeling of his skin.

B shuddered, but didn't halt in his attentions, warming his friend one section at a time. When the thigh had warmed up, he slid the hand up to a hip and began to work on that area. Clearly his friend was liking his efforts, the small gasp and having hands burying themselves under his shirt confirmed this to him. L slid his hands lower and lower down his friends back slowly, the action felt natural and automatic from the attention he was receiving.

When the scarlet eyed raven had determined that the one side was warm, he switched sides and wormed his hand to start on the other thigh, keeping his movements at a casual pace. He'd barely registered the feeling of his friend's hands sliding lower and paused momentarily before continuing. The older had reached the boys baggy black pants before long; he didn't even think twice about sliding his hands in and letting them run over more soft skin.

It finally clicked then just what his friend was doing to him and he smiled, his smile going unseen to the older. Once he'd warmed up the other thigh, he moved up to a hip and continued his attentions, shivering a little more at feeling those hands at his ass.

There was one spot that Beyond's now warm fingers traced across that sent tingles all through the elders body. It made him shiver and moan. Feeling and hearing the reaction his friend gave kept B's hand where it was, trailing and lightly tickling the sensitive skin.  
>"I didn't realized you wanted to play Lawli," he whispered, trailing his hand up and down that expanse of skin and leaning in to the older's neck to place kisses there. L wanted to retort but all he could do was shiver and gasp. The skin there was so sensitive for whatever reason that he almost couldn't handle it.<p>

B felt the very air around them slowly become warmer, but he didn't stop. His other hand trailed and found the heating flesh between his friend's leg and trailed a finger along the top of the mostly limp muscle. The elder let out a soft moan and squeezed his friends cheek in response to the touch. B shudders at the feeling, but not disliking it either. He trails the hand that teased back up and under the shirt to play with a nipple while he kissed the neck.

Somehow, kissing no longer felt right and he decided to up his game by introducing a tongue into his ministrations to his neck. There was a muffled sound of pleasure that escaped and urged Beyond on but made L's body freeze up slightly as the wet muscle traced the sensitive area. The younger raven lapped at an earlobe and kissed down the neck. His breathing hitched and became slightly faster at hearing the older raven's reactions, making him unconsciously start to slowly move his hips against a leg.

L wasn't sure why, but he gasped the other's name and scrunched his eyes shut tightly. It was as though his body was in overload and knew exactly what it wanted even if the stone eyed raven wasn't even sure what they where doing. The wild raven stopped his attentions to the fledgling detective's neck to gaze at his face, loving how it looked so far. He adjusted them both so that he was now straddling the older ravens leg.  
>"You look very cute like that Lawli..." he whispered, leaning in for a kiss to the cheek and lips. His hand on his hip continued its attention and the other went back between the older raven's legs where he felt a stronger heat emanating from it. He touched the area and rubbed it gently.<p>

L gave a soft moan, but frowned slightly. Truth be told he couldn't see any of his friend in the darkness, but that just made it even easier to feel him. As if sensing this, B stopped momentarily.  
>"Am I making you uncomfortable Lawli? Is that why you frown? Do you want me to stop?"<br>"No..." L breathed softly, "I just can't see you at all..."  
>"That does not always have to be a bad thing..." he whispered, nuzzling the older's neck and kissing a cheek.<br>"Use your other senses and respond to those. I would be blind in here too if it were not for my eyes, but if you want I can close them and we can both use our other senses..." He does not wait for an answer and does just that, closing his eyes and feeling, hearing, and tasting the older boy.

L nods and his little frown quickly turns to a soft smile, his hands once again tracing a swirl pattern over his friends back. The younger raven shivers, the sensation already heightened with his eyes closed, making him let out a slight shuddering breath against the older raven's chest. He slides down the leg he was straddling so that he could lift the shirt up. He nuzzled his way to a nipple and lapped at it three times before taking it into his mouth and lightly suckling it.  
>"I love you..." the elder whispered tiredly and gasped.<p>

The younger raven worked the nub for a short while, sucking at it, nipping the skin around it gently. He lifts his head and murmurs a softly spoken, "I love you too," before shifting his attention to the other nipple and using the hand at his hip to knead and pinch the one his mouth was on previously. Unconsciously, he'd positioned himself between the older raven's legs and sidled himself closer to bring their hips into direct contact with one another.

L's member was starting to grow and twitch, making him slowly start to rub against his friend without realizing. He was lost completely in what they were doing. The younger raven gasped lightly at this and moved his hips slightly in response. He stopped his attentions to the older raven's chest and pulled the shirt back down, returning the hand to a hip. He goes back to kissing and licking the older raven's neck, liking the sounds his friend made.

The elder male could feel the hairs on his friends breath on his neck, hot and heavy. It was making him crazy, no longer in control of his mind or body. The younger raven started to slowly grind their hips together at last, letting out small grunts, sounds he had no control over. Like the older raven, he had become lost and heated to whatever it was they were doing.  
>"Lawli..." he panted out, increasing the power of his thrusts slightly.<br>"I want to hear you..."

"B-Beyond..." The elder panted, unable to control his own soft sounds at the contact. There had to be a name for what they where doing even if he didn't know it. B's panting increased in speed and he gripped the older's hip slightly tighter as he rolled his hips harder still. His head was buried in the crook of the older's neck, still laving it with attention. He felt himself start to heat up in his lower regions and his soft grunts rose in volume slightly more.

L's noises too were escalating and he moved more and more to rub their erections together. Some part of his mind wondered why they had never thought to do this before now, but another told him that it wasn't something that Watari, Roger, or anyone else would agree with them doing. If they would, then he was sure they would have told them about it by now.

The younger raven let out a startled moan at the contact, but the contact made him grind faster. His other hand went between their heated bodies and found the detective's erection and rubbed it from the outside of the clothing. He was far gone, running now only on instinct, fulfilling a basic primal need that he didn't know about. L mimicked the action and started rubbing his friend, though feeling slightly braver his hand made its way down his pants to rub through the thinner fabric of his boxers.

A louder moan escaped and B pushed into the contact, wanting to feel more of that hand. He returned the favor and dug his hands inside pants to grip heated flesh, teasing the tip to free fluid to assist in his next instinct driven task. Again the detective found more of that natural courage and dipped into the soft boxers to rub his friends erection more directly, at the same time moaning out his friends name over and over again.

B responds in kind and begins to breathlessly repeat L's name, thrusting into a palm, hearing his moans get louder and insistent. His grip on the older raven's hip tightens more as he starts to pump his friend in time to his thrusts. The faster and harder the movements were, the more intense the feeling became. Their secret pleasure was becoming a familiar feeling and he knew that he was nearing bursting point.

B was getting tired from this strenuous activity and it was showing, but he was too close to stop. He felt sensitive everywhere and could feel the familiar motions before climax. A few thrusts later and he released into his friend's hand, letting out a loud moan and falling heavily against a heated chest, breathing hard, but not stopping his attentions until his friend could finish also. L too shivered and released with a loud moan, slowly wiping off his friends seed on his pants before pulling him into a deep and meaningful embrace.

The younger raven wiped the substance off inside the jumper before pulling hand out to return the embrace, giving a couple short thrusts as he rode out his orgasm. He was still breathing hard, softly kissing the older raven's cheek before setting his head back on the neck.  
>"It's... really warm... in here now..." he panted after some time, feeling tired and spent.<br>"Y-yeah..." the elder mumbled and pulled the blankets over them even more to trap the warmth before it could escape.


	20. Chapter 17

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 17

B didn't move from his spot on the detective, letting his breathing even itself out and feeling the edges of sleep take over his mind.  
>"Love you..." he breathed, welcoming the darkness as it slowly overwhelmed him.<br>"Love y-you too..." L was still panting slightly. Slowly, but surely, the other male lulled him into a shallow, dreamless sleep.

B entered his dream world, the first time in a long time and noted some immediate changes. The landscape was looking more war torn and had accumulated some strange beasts that resembled body parts that only he and L had seen, but none of them had faces and walked funny on too-thin legs. The sight disgusted him, but he held his composure well enough. Familiar cool fingers gripped his neck and he froze, feeling fear take over him before a strange buzzing in his skull forced a weird calm over him. A tongue licked his ear and he closed his eyes and lay down for the Grey Man as he'd done involuntarily before.

A strange hiss filled the younger raven's ears and things started to dissolve around him, throwing him into endless darkness. A huge brown snake with scales that glowed red like neon lights and eyes that oddly resembled Beyond's own. The creature arched up, spreading its cobra-like hood and flicking its tongue. B recoiled from the apparition, falling on his behind and scrambling quickly to get away.  
>"Get away from me!" He felt his heart racing wildly.<br>In the waking world, his breathing had picked up significantly, panicked and hyperventilating. He started to whimper loudly.

"Interesting..." the creature hissed, tickling the boy with her long, flickering tongue.  
>"I have never met one of us still in a mortal shell before..."<br>He covered his head and closed his eyes, shivering.  
>"D-don't touch m-me... l-leave me al-alone... p-please..." He continued to try escape the massive snake.<br>"You would let that creature rape you yet you fear me?" she hissed, making no attempt to either scare nor comfort him.  
>"Humans are such fickle creatures..."<p>

"W-what do you mean...? I see Blue Man and he hugs me..." He'd never allow such actions on himself or another, especially Lawli.  
>"What do you mean mortal shell...?"<br>"You need not know what you are only that you are different and important..." she mumbled, "and also that we are the same..."  
>"How can we the same when clearly we are far too different?" He felt his fear of this monster slowly going away, noting that its eyes seemed to glow brighter.<p>

"I look into your eyes and I see the moment of your death as I do for all other creatures, yet you do not see mine for I have already passed..."  
>"You can see the numbers too?" He took a step forward curiously, no longer afraid of the snake and slowly reached out to touch a giant scale.<br>"Were you always a snake in real life?"  
>"No..." she stated simply.<br>"Though there are those that were..."

"You mean to say you were human and turned into a snake when you died? How did that happen?" He stroked the scale a few times, finding it no different than living snakes, only larger in size.  
>"Were you called a freak too then?"<br>"I do not know how it happened..." The creature's gaze sharpened momentarily at the memories, "and yes, I was... I ended my life at the age of 17..."  
>"Watari tells us that killing yourself is not the way to go. He is my adoptive father. If it were not for Lawli... I would not be here on this Earth. He means a lot to me..." He continued to pet that scale as he recalled the many times he wanted to end his life and how those thoughts got stronger with every passing year.<p>

"I had no such people, and still do not. Humans are fickle creatures and I need not interact with them... You however, are not one of them, nor are you one of us... Though one day this will be your domain..."  
>"This... place...? It seems so... depressing... Maybe if Lawli was here with me... We promised that we'd go wherever the other one went, no matter what..."<p>

"It is not depressing; it will be completely under your control," she mumbles, not feeling the need to speak with him any further on the matter.  
>"You are a great curiosity... To stumble upon your dream amongst the billions of other creature's waking worlds... Gifts like ours are rare..." The snake leaned down and nudged the boy with her head.<br>"Speak not of me, as I need those here to fear me..."

B nodded, something telling him that it would be unwise to do so.  
>"Are there others like us here?" He smiled weakly at the brief nudge.<br>"Many..." she mumbled, "some like us, some with other gifts but the darkness holds many souls."  
>"Is this place... Muu? Watari tells us that there are things called Shini...something and that when they kill you, you go straight to Muu... Do... Shini... something's exist?"<br>"Shinigami..." she corrects.  
>"No this is not Muu, this is simply the space around the earth between the after life and your world... You touch death briefly in your sleep and as all dreams occupy this space."<p>

"They do exist then... I don't think Lawli would ever believe me so I'll not say anything about it... The dream world is your home now...? Fascinating... I never would have thought so..."  
>"It is..." A long tongue flicked out and brushed over his jaw.<br>"Your friend," the snake looked over into the nothingness to a cluster of numbers Beyond could not even see, "L. Lawliet, such an interesting mind for a human..."

B was going to retort on the matter, but realized that this snake had the same gift.  
>"He has a brilliant mind. He is going to be a detective... but I have a very bad feeling about it... I worry that something is going to happen to him if he chooses this life..."<br>"It is his choice and a choice all living things can make freely..." She spoke in a clear but harsh whisper.  
>"Freedom is what makes life, however brief and fleeting, precious..."<br>"I understand, but still... like I said before, Lawli means a lot to me... He saved me from my mother when she tried to drown me. He's always been there to protect me. I have no way to return the favor because he's always been the stronger of us two... well not physically, but mentally..."

"This may change, or it may not. It depends on the choices you make." The creature spoke in a hiss though it was still unthreatening.  
>"You should seek out a place where the walls between this world and yours are thinner and meditate there, the answers will come to you..."<br>"I know how to meditate just fine, I do it sometimes with Lawli to calm myself down. I don't know my own strength or anger sometimes..."  
>"Fascinating." The snake once again tickled the boys chin.<br>"Though in these places there are creatures with more knowledge than I..."

The younger raven giggled a little at the tongue as it tickled his chin.  
>"Perhaps one of them might give me insight as to what I am? I don't know what I am at all... I is frustrating because Lawli wants to find out too, but he doesn't know either..."<br>"There are... Limited answers to what it is we are, only know that you have purpose beyond that of humans... More I cannot tell you..." She once again nudged the small boy with her snout,  
>"It is time to awaken, look for places humans claim to see ghosts and spirits. Those are places where the wall has been weakened by dream creatures feeding... But tell no one what you see..."<p>

"I promise that this will stay between us..." He meant it, starting to feel lighter every passing second. At last he was jolted back into wakefulness, still on top of the older raven's chest and starting to feel cooler again. He shifted comfortably on the older and looked into his face.  
>"Morning Lawli..."<br>"Good morning Beyond..." the elder replied.  
>"Did you sleep well?"<br>"I guess... I had a nightmare at first then Blue Man took it away and held me close. He was telling me a story I think, but it was gibberish, I could not understand what he was saying..."

"I still don't like this 'Blue Man' Beyond..." the elder mumbles, "he seems suspicious..."  
>"Why would he be suspicious? Blue Man makes the bad dreams go. I told you this before..." It hurt B to lie to the young detective like this, but he made a promise, and he was perhaps the only one that L believed for the most part.<br>"He doesn't hurt me like Grey Man does..."  
>"I still don't know Beyond..." he mumbled and sighed.<p>

The younger raven tightened the embrace and nuzzled the young detective's neck.  
>"If Blue Man hurts me worse than Grey Man at all... you'll be the first to know, I promise."<br>"I trust you." *Just not the creatures of your damaged mind...*  
>"We'd better start walking back to the home before we're caught. It appears early enough to sneak back inside..."<p>

L nodded in agreement and slowly crawled out of their little burrow to see the sun just rising in a beautiful orange glow. The wild raven followed suit and stood in place for a moment to admire the sunrise before trailing alongside his friend at a quickened pace. He'd rolled the blankets after shaking the dust and debris from them.  
>"Those are going to need to be washed..." the elder mumbles, "and we had best hope that no one notices that white... stuff..."<p>

B looks down at his pants where Lawli had wiped his hand and noted the white stuff had dried. He brings a nail to it and manages to scrape it off.  
>"It comes off when it is dried out. They won't see a thing if we clean it off right here."<br>L nodded and looked up at the sky.  
>"My new job will let me travel many places just like Watari..." he mumbled.<br>"I want you to come with me..."

Scarlet eyes widened and a smile formed on his features. He hugged his friend after he'd cleaned the white stuff off.  
>"I want to go with you Lawli! It would mean so much to me. We are both fluent in Japanese." To prove this he switched languages and spoke again.<br>"The local people will welcome us with open arms, we will travel and see haunted locations. You will still solve crimes and I can study the Japanese plants."  
>"Haunted?" L mumbled and raised an eyebrow.<br>"Why would you want to see haunted places Beyond?"

B realized he'd make a slight mistake and blurted out a hinting of places he was to go to.  
>"Who wouldn't want to go see a haunted location? I have an open mind and I'm not afraid to check them out..." He hoped that was enough to cover his tracks.<br>"There are many such places around I am sure..." the detective mused, "though I doubt their legitimacy..."  
>"Regardless Eru-san, I wouldn't mind checking them out for kicks. I am sure there are even holy places too. Japan has a lot to offer and explore. It would be well worth it honestly."<p>

"I would also like to see China though I doubt forming ties with that country would be far more difficult..."  
>"China is still under Communist rule," he stated in English, "Democracy and those who live freely would be frowned upon. You do look Asian though, I'm sure you'd fit right in."<br>"I have some Japanese in my back ground though I also have German and English and several other nationalities in me..."

"A mutt, so to speak. I don't know what I am nationality wise, but since we look sort of the same, I guess I would have a little Asian in me as well. I would be a mutt also." The pair had reached the hole in the wall. B crawled under first before dusting himself and the blankets off. He reached down to help his friend do the same.

"Straight to breakfast then?" the elder mumbled, knowing it would be more suspicious to come in late.  
>"Yeah, but we need to get these blankets back to our beds before morning room checks. Also, getting out these clothes are necessary, I still feel slightly sticky in the middle of my legs..."<br>"Alright, but we had better be quick about it" he replies in a whisper as they sneak into the dorm.

The younger raven unties the blanket bundle and unrolls the contents, handing the older his blankets before fixing his bed quickly. He strips and redresses in his night pants and clean boxers, tossing the dirty clothes into the hamper.  
>"Alright, I'm good to go."<p>

L throws the blankets on the bed in a messy was, but a way that would pass the muster when it came to room checks. He quickly stripped off and put on his clothes from the day before, not wanting to get a new set of cloths dirty before his shower that could wait until after breakfast.

Scarlet eyes scanned the room and determined it was good enough for a room housing two boys who just woke up. He walked to the door and opened it, motioning his friend to go with him. L glanced at the clock quickly. If they hurried they wouldn't even be late, and could avoid any suspicion. B trotted down the hallways, checking back at his friend now and then before stopping outside the dining hall doors so he can follow the older inside.  
>"Just in time," he whispered. They only just beat out G and S as it was.<p>

"Just..." L mumbled, moving past the usual insults to there table. A was, as usual, late and wouldn't even notice their absence, especially being Saturday when normal classes were replaced with activities, games, puzzles and sports. The younger raven looked at the foreign looking food and willed himself to eat what was available, although not without making some sort of disgusted sound after every bite.

L was trying to make sense of what he was putting into his mouth. He decided it was some kind of pickled vegetable jam on toast that obviously had ginger among other things in it, what it was predominantly however still eluded him. He did decide that if he was ever in a position of power that he would ban this form of mockery to jam.

A few bites later and B decided he'd had enough of the food offered to him and pushed his plate away. He leaned in to whisper into L's ear.  
>"This tastes like shit... I don't like it one damn bit..."<br>"It is jam..." L whispered back, poking at the coating on the toast in contempt, "though I doubt the person who made it had taste buds..." he couldn't help but think that not even a mound of sugar could fix the horrible, sharp taste of the reddish-purple jelly."  
>"This atrocity is a mockery of jam..." B continued, " it does not deserve to be called as such. I declare a jam raid later on today, what do you say?" B continued to use hushed tones to avoid attention.<p>

"To get more jam for yourself, or to destroy what's left of... this..." he once again poked at the toast, as if expecting it to spring to life any moment.  
>"A bit of both, but more of the former. I need to get rid of the taste in my mouth. My jam would be a far better thing to swallow, I know you can't deny it either Lawli." He looks at the sad attempt at jam and frowned at it.<br>"I would prefer that this be to destroy the remaining jars of this... filth..." the elder mumbled, "lest we have to eat it again tomorrow..."  
>The younger raven shuddered in disgust.<br>"Anything but that... I wish they would learn to use the other, more fruity jam. At least you can tell it's jam and not some horror film's rejected blood..."

Their plans where suddenly interrupted by a loud sigh and a thud as A plopped herself down in the seat across from them. L looked up at her and frowned slightly.  
>"Is that my shirt?"<br>"Yes? do you have a problem with that?"  
>"Well ye-"<br>"So its alright then." She cut the elder off mid sentence, putting a piece of now cold toast in her mouth and immediately scrunching up her nose and spitting it out.  
>"Eww, what the hell is that?"<p>

"It is a rather pitiful excuse for jam, created in a secret laboratory and given to us all as guinea pigs. I don't know how I even managed to eat the amount of it that I did..." He makes a motion with his hand that mimicked choking and made a weird face while he was at it.  
>"It was no better when it was hot..." The elder sighed and finally pushed the plate away. He knew having not finished his meal he was turning down the opportunity to get a 'snack break' later but he could not manage it.<br>"A, join us for a jam raid. We're gonna steal some and remove this hideous attempt at a topping... seriously... It's disgusting..."

A put her hand into her pocket and pulled out the small brown mouse everyone had become so used to seeing, setting it down on her plate.  
>"Smudge will eat it, right Smudge?" to her disappointment the shaking creature showed no interest in the jam choosing instead to hop across the table and jump into L's half full glass of orange juice for a drink. B gripped the little animal's tail and pulled it out before handing it back to A.<br>"Don't want Smudge to drown in fruit acids, that could be dangerous..." He had the overwhelming urge to snap its neck and sped up the process to stop himself.  
>"I guess he doesn't like this jam either..." she mumbles and sets him back on her shoulder where she considered him to belong.<br>"Oh! I made a break through Beyond! On our work with that root and the walking fish!"

Scarlet eyes widened and he looked with interest at her words.  
>"Is that so? Please share it with us." A smile grew on his face then. He had another overwhelming urge to kiss L in happiness, but managed to restrain himself.<br>"I think I can shrink your tumors by 50-75% in just under a year, at the same time rendering them unable to spread or grow any further," she sparks.  
>"Not only that, but it would put them in a range where they would be considered safe, you would still have need for some medications though over all you wont be at risk of death at all any longer!"<p>

B's smile grew larger and he almost did kiss L then, but quickly diverted the act by feigning interest in something nonexistent in his hair for a brief moment before looking back at A with a wide smile.  
>"That's amazing! I will have to go and help you develop it because I've been wanting to breath normally for some time now..."<br>"Alright! Its going to take a month or two to formulate and test properly... But I am pretty sure this is a solid lead!" She chirped.  
>"Not only that, but it will be just like taking a puffer if I'm right! We can just add it to what you're already taking! the only problem is it may cause a bit of err... moodiness... yeah that's the best word for it..."<p>

"Moodiness..." the younger raven tasted the words, deciding he didn't like it. "We'll need to develop a way to prevent any side effects, or at best, reduce them to a tolerable level... Perhaps including other plant extracts will help in this?"  
>"Look, that root might have the potential to work wonders but it has its limits. If we start putting more into it, it could get worse! If we dilute it to much it will take forever to work! the fact of the matter is the medication your on already has steroids in it which has the potential to make you 'moody' even 'violent' in some people... you can't be to choosy... if the side effects arnt painful or debilitating you should be thankful!"<p>

"A... I've already hurt people... If I become even more moody and violent with this breakthrough, I will have to live with Watari and be separated from Lawli. I am not willing to take an unnecessary risk by being even more violent.. There has to be another way around it..."  
>"What if we add a natural relaxant then? Something that wont affect the way the medication works but simply calms and sooths?" A offered.<br>"If you can find something like that before we get to the stage of testing then im all ears!"

"I've heard that Willow bark is nature's natural relaxant for head pains and some body pains. Perhaps if we can incorporate the enzymes that those natural relaxants and pain killers come from, then we can certainly use those in our findings."  
>"As long as it doesn't interfere with what its designed for primarily, I'm all for it..." she gets to her feet, stretching a little. "You want to come down to the lab with me now? The jam raid can wait, there will be people in the kitchen now anyway and I want to show you my test subject that helped me with this discovery!"<p>

The younger raven frowned, but nodded and stood up from the table.  
>"Do you want to come and see our latest findings as well Lawli?" he offered, stretching out a few knots in his back. The detective nodded and gave a small smile.<br>"I will make a short detour by Watari's office and pick up another case and meet you there..."  
>"Sounds good to me. Let's go then A. I want to see your test subject. Hopefully with enough trials, we can test them on humans." He lets A take the lead and follows her out of the dining hall, making sure to look at his friend one more time before leaving.<br>"Alright!" A chirps and unlocks her borrowed lab room. A huge dog rushes past her and knocks B over.  
>"That's Bear! He has tumors in his lungs! I got him from the pound... They say he is a Rottweiler... cross... err... Shepherd? Or something..."<p> 


	21. Chapter 18

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 18

B suddenly found himself with a large dog on him and being attacked with licks. He chuckles and gives the animal's ears a generous petting, noting that it calmed it down some.  
>"Cool mutt. So he's your test subject for the tumors, huh?"<br>"Yep... He is the only animal I could find with anywhere near the kind of tumors you have without having to grow them inside a rat... this is just less cruel then growing them in a rat." She shrugged, "though Roger hates him... I think he is cute... and they where just going to put him down anyway..." Even after that brief burst of activity the dogs chest was heaving, struggling to get enough oxygen though it didn't move from on top of the raven.

"I know your pain, Doggy. I feel the exact same as you." He lay down and pulled the dog to lay on top of him to pet its ears and give it a hug.  
>"I like him. He's like Griffin, only a dog."<br>"I am going to have one of the building student classes build him a dog kennel..." she mumbled and pulled out a sealed test tube full of a reddish gold fluid from the fridge, "and this, this is my breakthrough!"

Scarlet eyes turned their attention to the tube and his eyes widened a little.  
>"That has the root extract and the enzymes from the Axolotl, am I correct?" He wanted to reach for it, but was too occupied petting the large canine who'd been catching its breath on him.<br>"Yep... And it was quite an accident that I figured out this would shrink the tumors!" She chirped and begun to explain in detail her experiments.  
>Meanwhile L sat inside Watari's office, keen to learn all he could about this next case.<p>

"Well L, as per your request to take on a more time constrained case, I have one here that may pique your interest. The criminal in this case goes by an alias simply known as "Rufus". "Rufus" has a history of paranoia and violent behavior. He's also one of those criminals that never repeats a tactic twice. Every victim of his has died in numerous and extremely graphic ways." He pulls free a large case file and hands it to the young detective.  
>"Inside contain witness reports, investigation reports as well as several photographs from crime scenes. There is also only one photo of 'Rufus' from the asylum that took him in about 9 years ago. He escaped 7 years ago and has been on the loose ever since. The local law enforcement agency that sent this request wanted his predicted whereabouts based on any pattern that exists. They would like your assistance in bringing this murderer down in less than 6 months."<p>

"That will be no problem Watari..." the elder assured him and took the thick file from his mentor. It seemed like an easy job, finding the most likely places he would run and hide based on his profile. For L it was of great interest.  
>"I am glad to hear it. Do note that you have the option to withdraw from the case if you feel something is not right with it or if you feel this report was given out on false pretenses. This is something you can take with you on any planned trips. As long as they know that you are actively assisting them in this case, that is fine. If you feel you can take the case, I will set the radio frequency to their number and you can confirm your interest in it."<br>"I will read the files now... Thank you Watari..." With that the young raven slinked out quickly and made his way down the halls and finally into A's borrowed lab. What he saw surprised him, B was resting in the doorway with a dog that was probably larger then he was with its head in his lap.

"I think that including starfish in our studies would seriously improve our findings. Combine that with the Axolotl enzymes and we could very will have a means for humans to re-grow lost limbs in the future. Just imagine the possibilities there." He looks to his right and spots the older raven.  
>"Oh hey Lawli. A's details on her studies and findings are nothing short of spectacular." He pets the large dog's ears, liking at how calm it became.<p>

"That is all well and good, but may I ask what that thing is doing on your lap?" L did not much understand dogs and their behaviors, he himself was more like a feline and thus seemed to have a kinship with them he lacked with many other animals. What the dog was doing seemed rather strange to him.  
>"He's resting. He has tumors in his lungs and can't breath as easily as other dogs. He's just like me, but I like to think that tumors aside, he's more like Griffin. I think she has competition for attention now."<br>"This is your test subject?" L tilted his head to the side slightly in thought.  
>"You shouldn't get attached then..."<p>

The younger raven nods, but does not let up the attention.  
>"He has a fighting chance just like I do. I believe that A's medicine will be of great help to him. I like him though. He's very calm when you pet his ears just like this. He doesn't bite, otherwise I would not be in this situation."<br>"What happens if you need to do a necropsy... What then?" The elder mumbles, slightly worried his friend will be hurt by attaching himself to a dying animal.

"You speak nonsense. A's tests are more hit than miss. She's not going to fail with this one. If she does... then we'll just have to see what went wrong..." His eyes sadden a little, but they go sort of happy again.  
>"That's not going to happen though, right Bear?" The large dog's tail wags slowly as if understanding its own predicament and the faith the humans had in it.<br>"Alright..." The elder admitted defeat with a sad sigh. He trusted A to get her medicines right eventually but just as with the mice she lost some in the process...

B nudges the large dog off of him with some effort before standing up and walking into A's lab. Inside were several machines of advanced and primitive means. There were numerous cells containing lab mice and tanks holding animals and plants alike.  
>"No wonder you need a kennel for him. Good thing he's so well behaved otherwise you'd have a crisis on your hands."<p>

A gave B a small smile and then called the dog over to her to sit at her side.  
>"Yeah I just got him yesterday too, " she chirps, "The people at the pound say he is about a year old and that they were going to put him to sleep tomorrow... this is a better use for him, at least he has a chance this way..."<br>"Yes, I believe that you'll give him that chance, so what about the test mice that you did grow tumors in? How are they faring thus far?" B walks to one of the cells and notes the living and deceased. The living seemed to outnumber the dead, which was reassuring so far.

"Well..." She mumbled and tapped on the side of the tank,.  
>"So far, five in ten show immediate improvement, two in ten don't survive long enough to treat and one in ten die anyway..." she mumbles, looking at the chart she had drawn up.<br>"There is of course one which the treatment didn't effect at all and one which had an allergic reaction to something in the medicine and passed away... Which... in round one of testing gives it a 50% chance of working... sounds more scary then it looks though. I mean, this is round one and I expected more casualties then I got so..."

"It sounds to me that round one of testing turned out the appropriate results that it should turn out in the first place. Willow tree bark would help with immediate pain related side effects though and thus remove any side effects pertaining to it. Thankfully that this is only one round of testing. If things improve however with more testing, I think that the results should begin to turn out more positive results. If not, then that is what the chemical adjustments are there for."  
>"Right. this was actually a suspenseful te- L... what are you doing?" A's attentions where immediately captured by her older brother who was down on all fours rubbing his head against the large dog the way a cat would scent someone or something.<br>"He licked me..." he responded simply.

B quirked an eyebrow at this.  
>"You have your hand Lawli..." he murmured.<br>"It is not very hard to wipe your cheek or better yet, to use the sink over there. Doing that only ensures that you will now have fur on your cheek." He walks over and crouches and begins to pick off small pinches of the animal hair from his friend's face.  
>"It's what Griffin does..." he mumbles, seemingly getting the large canine confused with a completely different animal.<p>

"Dogs have an entirely different means of communication, and if you knew that... you'll know that you are just confusing Bear. Besides, Griffin does that to claim whatever she rubs her glands against as her territory. Luckily you don't have such glands otherwise you've just claimed Bear as your own." He finishes the task and tosses the hair in the garbage. L simply tilts his head to the side in slight confusion, not fully understanding why it is that dogs and cats would communicate differently.  
>"Then Griffin owns us?"<p>

The scarlet raven simply nods before returning to A's cells to read over her research, holding the papers delicately between thumb and middle finger.  
>"She owns us, not the other way around..." he murmured while speed reading everything.<br>"If a dog wanted to own us, they would have to pee on us, but not just any normal pee. Scent marking pee has different chemicals and they seem to have this in abundance."

The detective turned up his nose at the large dog who again licked his face. A couldn't help but wonder if her eldest brother was in fact a cat in a past life, his expressions and mannerisms seemed to be so feline, not to mention the way he slinked around.  
>"I like what you have here. I need to get back to my natural pesticides too. I have a compound that I need to review with my test subjects. If all goes well with that then I can perhaps begin to market my finds soon enough."<p>

A nods in agreement and quickly gets back to her own work.  
>"Well you're welcome to it now, but remember not to put it anywhere on my half of the room..." she mumbles, putting on her goggles.<br>"I don't want to contaminate my samples..."  
>"I have the regular lab for that. I have a few rats that are currently in round 3 testing at this time. Thanks for the offer though A." He looks to his friend and walks to him.<br>"I see Watari gave you your newest case. It's a time constrained one as well. I can't wait to see how fast you solve this one."

"I was going to work on it while you helped A with her work," the elder mumbled, sitting up on one of the high stools.  
>"But you already know my work was already kept separate. I didn't know A had another lab set aside, so that sort of makes our work a little off so to speak. However, on that note, is there any help that you would like A?"<p>

"Sure, I need someone to dissect these rats and find out how much there tumors have shrunk after 24 hours with the medicine pumped into there cages. It means you have to kill them unfortunately, however, considering they're full of tumors, its probably for the best," She mumbles and gestures towards the cells.  
>"You should also dissect the ones who failed to survive and the one who is not improving and find out why... in the tests on tumors outside the body the reduction is between 50 and 75% as I said before however inside the body though it is clearly working or they would all be dead, it could be very different results."<p>

"Good point. I know you don't like seeing me kill rodents, but it is a necessary sacrifice..." He reaches and takes one of the living animals and with practiced motions, snaps the rat's neck and sets it aside. He repeats the motion with the remaining animals before removing the deceased and moving to retrieve a scalpel for the next task. A shuddered, but knew it needed to be done. Their sacrifices could save countless people and animals alike... not to mention her brother and Bear. With surgical precision, B begins to cut open every rodent, somehow managing to keep his hands clean of blood while he worked. Eventually all the rodents were gutted and the lungs made available for dissecting.

L occasionally looked up to check on the rooms other occupants, but for the most part remained silent, immersed in his own work. He took out a map of the area as well as satellite pictures and started plotting routes from where he was last spotted to potential hiding places, finding 2 that where likely 2 that where extremely likely and one which, for some reason seemed to scream at him. It had the best cover, was a little further away and most importantly, would be hard to lay siege to... if he where this man, this is where he would hide.

The younger raven opened the lungs and motioned their sister to his side.  
>"The living subject's lungs seem to have various stages of recovery. There is one survivor who was not effected at all, I'm surprised it did not show any sign of weakness. The tumors for the rest of them seem to be reduced between 30%-50% which is good, but not fully assuring. Hmm... I wonder why that is..."<p>

A looked over her clip board with the before and after measurements of each tumor before letting out a frustrated sigh.  
>"I couldn't use as high of a dose with living animals and I couldn't expose them as much for as long... I know that's what caused these results..." The young scientist and future doctor flipped back a few pages and reviewed her notes.<br>"I can't lengthen the exposure due to it being in the form of a fine mist, almost gas, they would suffocate! And I can't just up the dose because they're far to small... Perhaps there is another way..."

"Perhaps mice and rats are just too small for this particular experiment," B murmured in thought, putting an index finger to his lips.  
>"Growing tumors in them and healing them at that size would put their health at too much risk as it stands. We might fare better with something larger..."<br>A nodded and sighed sadly.  
>"Rats and mice just aren't comparable to people when it comes to lung tumors... They're too fragile... But I'd feel bad doing this to say... Puppies... Well, I have a hard enough time doing this to mice... I couldn't put down 10 dogs a day just to take out their lungs..."<p>

B visibly flinched and nicked his finger, making him hiss in pain and go to the sink and begin to clean his wound.  
>"Puppies may hold answers, but I would feel bad too... so small..."<br>"The only thing I can think of, realistically, is to hunt down dogs like Bear who are going to die anyway... Even then... Or... We could test Bear as he is now and if we get positive results we can assume that my original theories where correct... We wouldn't have to put him down, I can do all the measurements by camera the way I did with the rats first test... But if I've messed up and I'm wrong it will kill him..."  
>"Then try not to mess up his chances A... He has a lot of years ahead, we can try to make them good."<p>

B wrapped his hand and went to the First Aid kit to get himself a bandage. On the way there he froze in place and then collapsed. L's eyes snapped over to his friend and he immediately jumped up and went to his side, quickly doing his usual and familiar checks for signs of the lung failure that always haunted him.

He was drifting in a weird void, unable to make sense of direction. It was familiar, like he'd been here before, but he could not place it. He looked in a direction and determined it was himself on the ground out there.  
>"Not yet... This isn't my time... Let me back..." There was a jolt before he was sent back.<p>

"Beyond!" L shouted and shook his friends shoulders gently, unsure of what exactly had happened so rapidly. The young raven coughed and gasped, trying to make sense of everything. He saw stars and sat in place to clear the fog that had accumulated in that short time.  
>"Are you alright?" the elder asked, seeing his friends eyes open at last. B nodded slowly and made to stand up, though a little weaker than he'd like.<br>"Y-yeah... I'm fine..."  
>"N-no sit down!" the elder ordered and pulled him back onto his lap.<br>"A has gone to get Watari..."  
>"I'm said I'm fine!..." He glared, but didn't fight back.<br>"I think this is the fourth time that has happened..."

"Which makes me even more worried..." the elder mumbles and runs his fingers through his young friend's dark hair.  
>"Today isn't my day... I would not worry about it..." He huffs out a sigh and leans into the touch, shivering when key spots were touched.<br>"I will worry until the day I die..." L whispers softly.  
>"I love you too much not to..."<br>"I love you too..." he whispered back.  
>"But I'm fine... I promise..." He shifted in the older's lap slightly.<p>

"I will have Watari look you over just to be sure..." the older replied again.  
>"If you are indeed fine then you can go back to helping A..."<br>"Please... this one time... I don't want to deal with Watari..." He wriggles out of L's grip and tries again to stand on his own.  
>"A has already gone to get him, if you can get to her without collapsing again then I will let it go..." To L it seemed like a fair test.<p>

"Fine..." With some effort on his end, B managed to stand with a lingering pain. He winced and started to walk to the doorway. When he'd cleared that area, he picked up speed and moved ahead. He did not get far before collapsing once more, grunting with the impact. L followed behind and scooped his friend up, carrying him back into the lab.  
>"You're not fine..."<p>

B was in a daze again and felt the fog build once more.  
>"I'm fine..." He continued to deny it, even with a voice that was not recognizable. L held his friend close to his chest, he was scared for the younger male. The scarlet eyed boy closed his eyes. He was feeling tired from his efforts and wanted a little sleep to get his energy back. His slow breathing continued to lose speed until it seemed he'd all but lost his breath. It was there, but only just. The tired looking raven watched his friend like a hawk, never removing his dark eyes from the other boy. It wasn't long before Watari was at their side which comforted him somewhat.<p>

The elder male had wisely retrieved B's medicine ahead of time and had it in his waistcoat.  
>"A tells me that Beyond collapsed in the lab. Was there anything that may have triggered it?"<br>"I don't think so..." the elder mumbled.  
>"He cut his finger but... it wouldn't make sense..."<br>"Hmm... his lungs failed on him again, did they?" He leaned down and gently shook the younger raven's shoulder and didn't get a response. He brings a finger under the nose and gets a small puff of air.  
>"This is not good. Rub his chest L, Beyond's breathing is too weak to stir him and get the medicine into his system."<p>

L nodded and carefully started rubbing his friends chest in the same familiar motion he always did, trying to encourage him to breath normally. While the elder male waited for L's efforts to work, B was once again plunged into darkness and into the void. He floated in it for some time, wondering what had happened to him. He could see flashes of light and instinct drove him to one of these sources, though as he thought on it... they could be broken parts of the same whole. Either way, he made his way until he could feel himself being pulled along naturally.

L let the younger males head rest against his neck, trying his best to make his friend breath easier. Some strange force urged him to start humming his sad, soothing tune. All at once, a familiar song began to play, calming him down and letting the strange force that was pulling him to do so. He hummed the song as best as he could, thought he was not nearly as good as his friend. It gave him warm energies, made him feel safe.  
>His breathing started to slowly come around and even out.<p>

"That's good..." the elder whispered and kissed his friend's forehead softly. Watari looked on as B finally fluttered his eyes open and scan the area blearily before focusing on the other occupants.  
>"Lawli...? Watari...?"<br>"Beyond!" the elder chirped, relieved to see his friend wake. B's breathing was still a little shaky and wheezed, but he managed a small smile. Watari handed the puffer to the older raven.  
>"Give him this when he's ready to receive it."<p>

L nodded and shook the medicine roughly for a moment.  
>"Can you take this?" he asked quietly, waiting for his friend to ready himself. The younger raven tested out a few deep, but shaky breaths and nodded, accepting the mouth bit into his own and gave a nod to have the medicine into his system. The elder raven nodded and pressed down, releasing the spray and starting to hum again.<p>

B inhaled the medicine and took some more calm breaths before relaxing on his friend's chest.  
>"This is not the first time this has happened Beyond, and I know that it can happen again. You need to be careful."<br>"He is right, you shouldn't work by yourself anymore," the elder raven mumbles sadly.  
>"I will stay with you from now on..."<p>

B wanted to retort, but he knew what happened in the past and only nodded his head and closed his eyes, feeling tired again. L scooped his friend up off the ground and started the trek back to their room. The elder couldn't help but be thankful that his young friend was so light. The younger raven fell into a dreamless sleep filled only with the song his friend sang and feeling more and more protected by it.

Soon they were back in their room and the elder carefully lay his weakened friend down in his own bed, crawling in next to him and pulling the blankets over them both. The younger raven immediately cuddled into his friend and was soon at ease with himself and the world around him. He would stay this way for another 4 hours before waking again. L was sure he would never sleep again by this time, too worried about his friend to focus on anything else around him.

4 hours had passed before B woke again. It was in the afternoon by now as noted by the sunlight streaming in. He looked with unfocused eyes at his friend's chest and managed a small smile before nuzzling into it more, hearing his heart beating strongly.

"Beyond," The elder tested, not wanting to wake his friend if he was simply shifting around in his sleep.  
>"Hmm?" It was spoken softly and tiredly. B nuzzled the chest area more before letting out a long, but soft yawn.<br>"I was worried..." the tired eyed raven mumbled back, noting that there cat was acting rather strangely.  
>"I'm alright now Lawli..." he murmured, finally letting his vision clear enough to see that he was in their room. He shifted comfortably and looked at the detective's face and followed his view to their cat who did not look all that well.<br>"Lawli... what's wrong with Griffin?"

L shrugged and moved to stroke their cat whose body felt cold and was shaking slightly.  
>"She isn't well..." Beyond knew that the detective didn't know what was wrong with their beloved furry friend. B wriggled out of bed as fast as he could manage and looked into her face, seeing her numbers dangerously low. He frowned and sniffled, freeing a tear.<br>"What's wrong?" the elder asked, looking up at his friend curiously.  
>"S-she's not going to m-make it... W-whatever's wrong with h-her... She's gonna... d-die..."<p> 


	22. Chapter 19

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 19

L's expression saddened and he scooped up there tiny baby and held her close. He knew that Beyond was right, he was always right. There was nothing that could be done.  
>"Maybe we can get her some pain relief..."<p>

The younger raven sniffled loudly and nodded. His expression was so pained with emotion. He loved that cat. He'd found her when she was a hairless little thing and raised her as one of his own, even if he had no prior idea of the concept of parenthood. He raised her with L and nothing could take that away from them. The elders eyes teared up a little as he slowly got to his feet, taking the little creature with him.  
>"We have to find Watari..."<p>

B stood up and removed Griffin from L's grip and held her to his chest the same way he did when he first found her. There was something deep and meaningful in this from his perspective. He followed behind slowly, petting the soft fur and murmuring soothing sounds to the pained animal. L looked back every now and then, keeping tabs on his young friend and their adopted baby. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was the second time he would lose a family member, the last being the loss of his parents.

The tired eyed panda opened his adopted father's office door without even knocking, an action which made the elderly gentleman behind the desk worried. This worry increased when he saw the tears in the usually calm raven's eyes.

Watari stood from his seated position and looked at his eldest son.  
>"What's the matter L? What has you so upset?" He did not have to wait much longer for an answer when B followed him inside, eyes moist with tears and holding their cat in his arms. The younger raven had a steady stream of tears that he kept half closed.<br>"G-Grif-fin i-is d-dying W-Watari..." He sniffled again and held the sore cat closer to his chest.  
>Watari's eyes saddened at this news and he moved from his position to be closer to his boys.<br>"I'm so sorry you two... I truly am."

L looked up with very sad eyes.  
>"I... I-I know there's n-nothing you can do, b-but can you give h-her something f-for the pain?"<br>"I don't think I have anything that's not going to make her any better or worse off than she is right now. I apologize." B sniffled and pet their cat slowly and muttered apologies to Griffin.  
>"There's got to be s-something..." Tears start running down the older ravens face as he pleads with the his adopted father.<br>"Even if it shortens h-her life... J-just don't let her suffer..."  
>"The only thing I can think of is to simply put her to sleep. It will be painless and she'll suffer no more. A has a supply of them with her."<p>

B sniffled again and could not stifle the sob that escaped. L moves back to his friend and their little animal.  
>"Its up to y-you B..." he whispers and strokes there furry friend softly. The younger raven slowly nodded.<br>"D-don't w-want her t-to suf-suffer an-anymore..." He closed his eyes and his shoulders shook with emotion. L nods and looks up at Watari with dark and tear stained eyes.  
>"Can you g-get A for us? I... I don't want to have t-to carry her a-all the way down there in t-the cold..."<p>

The elder male nods sadly and takes his leave to retrieve A. When he'd left the room, B walked to his friend and leaned his head on his shoulder and began to sob into it.  
>"I-I wish I couldn't see it L-Lawli..."<br>"I know..." L replied as calmly as he could and put his arms around his friend and their dying baby.  
>"B-but at least we know we can... s-stop her from suffering..."<br>"S-she's our... our..."

He could not bring himself to finish what he wanted to say, it was too painful. He only sobbed louder and felt himself begin to fall on his knees. The detective caught him and lowered him down slowly, kitten snug between them.  
>"She a-always will be... O-our b-baby..."<br>"I-it's not fair! I-it's not... f-fair..." He fell silent, just as Watari and A walked back inside.  
>"They are taking this very hard A, so try to make this as painless as possible for their cat."<br>"Y-yeah... I... its n-not..." L whimpered back and closed his eyes, letting the tears run down more freely then before.  
>"B-but s-she is s-sick... and... i-in pain so..."<p>

B looked up with blurry vision at seeing Watari walk inside with A following close by.  
>"P-please m-make it qu-quick A... s-she's su-suffer-ring..." He nuzzled the small cat and held her out, closing his eyes and sniffling loudly. A nodded and took the clippers, gesturing for B to put her down on his lap before shaving a patch of the kitten's fur on her leg away.<br>"G-goodbye G-Griffin baby..." L whispered and leaned down to give the little animal a soft kiss on the head as there little sister drew up an injection of green, see-through poison.

When the poison was administered, B held Griffin close and rocked her in his arms and started wailing. He was so distraught from this that he could not even speak, any attempt to do so was lost in another wail. He curled in on himself and fell to his side, holding the small cat close to his heart, even after hers had stopped beating. L curled up into a ball at his friends side, hiding his face in his knees and letting himself cry his heart out, hot tears soaking into the legs of his blue jeans. He wanted to hold and comfort his friend, but he could not move. His whole body was a racked with constant shudders and sobs.

Watari frowned and could not stop a tear from falling from his eyes. He knew that this was an impossibly hard thing for his sons as they'd literally taken their cat as a their child, as their baby to raise together. He crouched as low as his age and joints would allow and rested his hands on shaking shoulders. L didn't pull away nor did he respond in any other way, positive or negative. A to was sobbing lightly, feeling sad and guilty for taking her brothers' cat away whether it was for the best or not.

A large canine head pushed through the door, having followed the blond from the lab all the way up to find her upset here. It nuzzled her hand briefly before moving to the one who he deemed to be the most hurt and licking the red eyed raven's hand comfortingly. The younger raven was shaking terribly with emotion and not stopping his wails that he almost didn't register the large dog as it licked his hand. He curled in more and continued to shiver and shake, petting the fur as tenderly as he could manage.

Again the black dog made an attempt to get the boy up, whining softly and nudging his body. It was clear the canine could feel the hurt, whether or not he knew the cause. The nudge at his side made him turned his puffy, tear-stained eyes at the large dog. He frowned and sniffled before reaching out a shaking hand to the large animal's fur and moving it slowly across the area that his hand made contact with. He did not stop sobbing and freed more tears in the process.

The huge creatures brown eyes where soft and sad themselves and it moved to nuzzle into him more, trying to coax him back up as if knowing the cold floor would only make the sadness seep in deeper. Slowly, reluctantly, B edged himself into a kneeling position and braced his weight on the large dog, still holding Griffin close to his chest protectively, wanting so desperately for her to wake up even if he knew she never would.

The soft hearted dog leaned down and sniffed the small creature in his arms, finally gaining some understanding of what was happening. He looked up at the shaky boy for a moment before eyeing L, again wanting to move to comfort the other but still being leaned on by the younger of the two ravens.  
>"G-get out of it B-bear!" A hissed and the dog looked back at her with sad eyes.<br>"T-they're sad enough without being slobbered o-on by you!"  
>"N-NO!" B jumped at his own outburst before settling back into his sorrow.<br>"L-let... h-him st-stay..." It was much more softly spoken and was followed by a large sniffle. He edged himself over his friend and leaned on his back, rubbing it slowly, lovingly, sadly.

L looked up to his friend, sad onyx orbs meeting equally tearful red ones. There wasn't anything either could say that would change anything and they both knew it, choosing instead to stay silent and leave the moment still with their unspoken sorrow. Bear calmly lay his head on the younger lap with a soft whine, seemingly understanding their pain.

Time had passed before B began to feel tired, having exhausted his energy from crying, something that he continued to do, even when he got up shakily and pulled his friend's sleeve. He wanted to go to sleep and he wanted the young detective to be there with him. Reluctantly, he parted with the deceased animal with a small sob and urging his friend more desperately.

"I promise you I will find somewhere in the garden nice to bury her." The elderly man spoke softly, comfortingly.  
>"I will even let you carve a head stone for her, or have someone do it for you."<br>The detective nodded and slowly pulled himself to his feet with his friend, the tears not stopping for even a moment. B remained silent as he pulled his friend with him, avoiding the eyes of the other students whom he knew would mock their weakness in the near future.

He sniffled and sobbed as they reached their room. The younger raven locked the door and shuffled weakly to his own bed before collapsing into it and began wailing anew. L almost staggered over to B, curling up on the bed next to him and letting out little sobs of his own. To them it felt like losing a family member, though they knew this was better for her.

The younger raven fumbled weakly before pulling in his friend for a cuddle. He was desperate for contact with him and cried his heart out. The very moment Griffin's name came into thought only fueled his pain and he pulled the older closer still.

They both went on crying for an hour more together before the clouds of sleep pulled in first the younger then the older. Both raven's sleeps where haunted by there individual visions of death, though it would be Beyond who was ultimately the hardest hit by the loss.

The nightmare that he was having was replaced by a cold marble floor and for once, he welcomed it. He was terribly upset and didn't stop crying, even in this grand expanse of dark space. He curled into a ball and continued to pour out his sorrows.  
>"I-I'm s-so s-sorry baby girl... I-I w-wish there w-was so-something I c-could have d-done..." He buried his face in his arms and sniffled and sobbed.<p>

A small, fluffy animal rubbed up against the younger males body. The tiny form that had been their cat, marking Beyond as her own once more. Though she was clearly a part of this world she seemed to have somewhere to go, only briefly brushing by her former family in an effort to say goodbye. Even here she could not speak the human tongue yet somehow her thoughts seemed as clear as any words, echoing in the dark void.  
>'Goodbye my friend'<p>

The younger raven looked with teary eyes and wanted to pet her, but found he could not. It saddened him further and he sniffled again.  
>"G-goodb-bye... G-Griffin... I-I'll al-always l-love y-you..." Another sob escaped and he let it out. The small animal once again rubbed up against Beyond, purring happily despite being merely a ghostly reflection caught between life and death. She sent no more messages to the red eyed boy, but her feelings for him in return where clear and after a moment she turned around and happily trotted off towards a glowing green hole in the midst of the darkness, disappearing from sight forever.<p>

Seeing this saddened B, but something told him that wherever she walked into, it was a good place and it released some of his sorrows. He sniffled and let out a sad smile before curling into himself and laying down, sniffling and lightly sobbing until he woke up again. L had woken some time before his younger friend, his own dreams bringing no relief from his suffering. It was early morning and both ravens had calmed down a little, though the sadness haunted them still.

B pulled his friend closer still and nuzzled him, wanting the connection and bonding he badly craved. He kept silent and didn't say anything. The dark eyed raven pulled his friend in to rest his head against his chest and put his chin on the top of his head, wrapping around him protectively. The younger would remain silent, sniffling lightly and nuzzling his friend's chest and making small whimpering sounds.

His breath was shaky, but the panda eyed male managed to whisper a little 'I love you' and nothing more. There was nothing more he could say or do, nothing could make it any better. The younger raven nodded slowly and huffed out a shaky breath and looked around their room. It no longer felt like home anymore and he hated this space. Still, it was where Griffin was raised. He continued to nuzzle his friend's chest and whimper softly. Half the day was wasted this way before they even realized it had gone. Watari came knocking at their door, letting himself in when no one replied.  
>"My boys... are you alright?"<p>

Puffy scarlet eyes focused on their father and shook slowly side to side before going back to the older raven's chest to nuzzle it and seek comfort in the other. A stray tear fell on a cool cheek and he sniffled weakly. The elderly male nodded and sighed deeply. He had suspected this when no one saw them for lunch.  
>"I had the grounds keeper dig a hole for you this morning and I wanted to know if you would like to be there..."<br>"L-Lawli...? D-do you w-want t-to go...?" He nuzzled the older raven's chest and gripped his shirt and let another tear fall down.  
>"S-sort of..." Part of him wanted to see there little family member of yet another part told him it would be simply too sad, and Griffin wouldn't have liked that...<p>

The wild raven looked to their father and shook his head and sniffled before burying his face into the older raven's chest and whimpering softly.  
>"Well I will put a small wooden cross there so it will be easy to find, if you make a head stone or wish to get a better one please come and speak to me..." Watari gave a sad smile, and left the two boys in peace.<p>

B drifted back into a very uneasy dreamless sleep, waking at odd intervals to look into his friend's eyes to a near obsessive amount. Still, he did not let up his hold on his friend. This loss was a hard one and they both knew they may never fully recover from it.


	23. Chapter 20

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 20

It would be an entire month before L felt up to looking at his cases again, fortunately for him however it only took 20 hours of straight work for him to direct the police in a successful raid of the criminals hide out. No such luck followed there new canine friend however as his condition worsened by the day.  
>"How is he A?" the detective asked, kneeling down by the big black dog as it gasped and struggled. B seemingly had some kinship with the creature and L knew he would be devastated to watch him die of the same problem he himself had.<p>

The blonde girl looked from her charts, seemingly conflicted, but mostly disappointed with herself.  
>"I've not yet found the right mixture that would allow the medicine to be its most effective without being a burden on the test subjects." She brought a hand to her head to ward off the impending headache and let out a sigh.<br>"Something is not adding up right here L... If Bear's condition continues to worsen, I may have to... put him down to spare him..."

"You said it would be next to impossible to find another suitable candidate..." the detective mumbled.  
>"If you can't get it right on mice, why not push forward onto him. I think you were right when you said rats and mice where simply too small."<p>

"Thing is L, I have up-sized from rats and mice. My newest test subjects at this time are small breed dogs. I get the same result with them. It is simply too inconclusive to generate the results I want." She sets the charts down and walks to the large dog and pets its head softly.  
>"If I were to test what I have on Bear right now, there would be a higher chance of him dying from the medicine that is intended to heal him than him getting better."<p>

"Do you have much choice?" L looked back at B who was busy dissecting rats for A as usual.  
>"Move him to our room, we can keep 24 hour watch on him... That will give it the highest chance of success..."<br>"If it happens that he is unable to make it and he dies... it's going to further damage Beyond. He's only just stopped mourning Griffin last week. I know he's become attached to Bear to an amount that is not recommended of him, and thus he would take the loss just as hard."

She looks down at the dog and pets it again.  
>"If you are confident that he'll be alright, then I suppose it's worth a shot, but know that the odds are against him living..."<br>"A, the odds are against him now..." the detective mumbles.  
>"He is going down hill rapidly and I haven't even seen him open his eyes today. I am sure he would rather die fighting..."<p>

There is a moment of inner conflict that crossed A's mind before she walked to one of the syringes containing the medicine that was still undergoing trials. She used the clippers to remove a patch of fur from around the lung area and inserted the needle into the skin and injected the formula, getting a small whine of protest.  
>"Alright, just let me know if anything happens. I need to know if this works or not."<p>

"Can you have someone bring him to our room?" The detective asked quietly, knowing the dog weighed more then either of them and would be impossible to carry alone.  
>"Of course. I'll have him in your room before the day is out. I'd like to keep him here for immediate effects first."<br>"Then I will stay up and watch him," the elder raven promised, looking back at B again.  
>"Did you hear that Beyond?"<p>

The younger raven nodded slowly. Unseen, he frowned and hid a small sniffle. The memories of Griffin began to come back into his conscious and he almost started tearing up again. L watched the canine gasp helplessly as he always did. He had seen Beyond go through this a million times and couldn't bear to see it happen to someone else.

In his mini depression, B forgot to snap the next rat's neck and started to cut into it, unleashing a loud screaming squeak. He recoiled in shock and backed away from the animal as it began to bleed to death and run around as it did so. He was too much in shock to know how to react fast enough.

"Your supposed to kill it first!" the blond yelped and tried to chase after the dying animal who was still too agile for her. B's eyes were wide as he watched he animal. His hand shook.  
>"Sorry A... I... I guess I forgot..."<br>Soon it slowed down from blood loss and the young doctor managed to pin it down.  
>"You can make up for it by killing it now! Quickly!"<p>

The younger raven moved quickly and snapped the rat's neck with practiced movements before taking the dead animal and setting it on the counter.  
>"Sorry A..." he murmured.<br>"Its alright B... Just don't do it again..." the blond mumbled.  
>"For the rat's sake!"<p>

B began to finish the task he'd been given and completed skinning it and dissecting it in silence.  
>*How was it able to still be running around when it knew it was bleeding out? Are there ways for all animals to do this? Could I bleed them to death internally?* The look on his friend's face somehow bothered the young detective though he would never speak these thoughts aloud. There was something sinister there... an intent he had not seen before...<p>

Once the next batch of rat lungs were on display, B took samples for microscope tests, setting them on slides for A to look at.  
>"What sort of results from the carriers can you expect to see from this batch A?"<br>"Well I have it at 45-65% successful, but I seem to be deadlocked at that..." she replied and sighed.  
>"The doses just aren't high enough..."<br>"If you can get it maintained at 65%, then I am positive that you can find ways to better improve the success rate." He eyes the last rat still alive and that stray thought plagues his mind where a strange little quirk of the lips changed his expression for a brief moment.

"I don't know... I'm at a loss here..." She huffed and sat herself down to check through the microscope. L however was more focused on his friends strange expression. Without removing his gaze from the living rat, he spoke up.  
>"The dose that offers the 65% success rate should be able to be improved to maybe 70% or more if you can make the right substitutions." Another quirk made it look like he was smirking for a second before his gaze went stoic again.<p>

"I know... but..." It was clear she was frustrated, A had simply spent to much time on this project for it only to be showing 65% reductions in the size of tumors. B walked to the living rat and picked it up, cupping it in his hands tenderly and petted it slowly.  
>"Try the Starfish enzymes as I've suggested in the past. If introduced to only healthy lung tissue, the lung will possibly re-grow and replace the damaged tissue or the tumors in general." He rolled the rat over in his hands and played with it.<p>

"I already have... Unfortunately it caused the solution to become more toxic and that means I can use less!" she groaned.  
>"It improved the successfulness by 5% though I can't add anymore without making it into a poison."<br>"That is unfortunate..." he murmured, bringing an index finger to his lip in thought. He glanced at his friend then and noted that he was eying him oddly.  
>"What is it Lawli?"<br>"Just thinking... nothing more..." the elder replied honestly, casting his gaze down at the ill dog once more.

"Fine... A? Do you mind if I take this rat? Perhaps I can try my plant-only compounds on it and see if I can find an effective solution..."  
>"Sure whatever..." A huffed and put her head down on the desk.<br>"It's already had a dose of my medication... if you can get it past 65% I'd appreciate it..."  
>"Not a problem. I'll take good care of it." He walked to the dog and crouched low and pet the animal's head slowly.<br>"You'll be fine Bear, I promise."  
>"Don't get your hopes up." A mumbled.<br>"Remember to take him with you when you go... I just can't look after him right now..."

"As I recall, you promised transport for us... and don't do your head in over this A. We're a team, we'll figure this out." He stands up and pulls his sister into a back hug, making sure not to hurt the rat in the process.  
>"If Bear starts to think he'll never get healthy then he'll give up and die. I don't give up on him."<br>"Oh... yeah... Just... Hang on a second..." The frazzled young lady pulled away from her friend after a moment, pulling over a large silver table with wheels.  
>"Can you help me lift him up?"<br>"Alright." L moved over to the dog and together with A moved him onto the table.  
>"I'll put a first aid kit in the bottom, any questions?"<p>

"I have none... If he does not survive, I'll bring him back and perform the autopsy myself... What about you Lawli?"  
>"What should we do if his breathing fails?" the dark eyed raven asks quietly.<br>"There should be a breathing apparatus in the first aid kit. It just goes into the throat and you just squeeze the bag and return him to me on the cart."  
>"Alright..." The tired eyed raven stroked the dogs fur softly.<p>

B looked to his friend and then to the dog, noting that it still had lots of time. He was confident that it would pull through. He wanted to believe that it would come out alive and well. He set the animal on his shoulder while helping his friend to wheel the large dog into their room, where a memory of their cat came back to haunt him again. He fought back tears and kept going. On the way back to their bedroom, many of the other students gave them strange looks but they where ignored. A million questions that needed answering came into L's head far to late to ask his little sister.

Once safely back into their room, B helped L move Bear to the area rug between their beds. B rolled the cart away and went back to the ill dog to place a head to the chest where a very rough sounding breath could be heard.  
>"It's alright buddy... You'll pull through this ok." He grabbed the rat that threatened to leap from him and went back to the doorway.<br>"I'm going to the main lab Lawli. I want to see if I can find anything that can improve the effectiveness of A's medicine. I'll be alright on my own, I promise."

"No," the elder states simply, "I don't trust that you won't collapse."  
>"I'm not going to collapse. I took my medicine this morning. I want to help A with her medicine. If you can't trust me with wanting to help with a good cause, then I'm afraid I must defy you dear Watson." Without waiting for an answer, B takes his leave and closes the door and walks quickly to the science lab.<p>

L sighed loudly and sat down beside the large black canine. He wanted to follow his friend, but Bear needed to be watched. The younger raven ignored the strange looks and mean comments and found the lab with his pesticides compound. He put the rat into the holding tank and turned his attention to the leaves, roots and fungi that he'd dried and kept fresh. He knew what ones that could possibly assist, but what mixture was the right one? With a slow huff, he grabbed his mask and gloves and put them on and began the meticulous work of grinding the dried compounds and cutting the fresh ones.

Meanwhile L was trying to figure out what to do with the sickly animal in his care. He was a genius, but he was neither a doctor nor a vet.

Hours would pass while B worked, in that time he'd made 2 testing compounds and had a third in the works. He paused in his efforts to eye the rat and removed the second compound on instinct and took a pinch of the mixture and put it into a pot of water to boil. When it was boiled, he filtered the water mixture into the rat's water container and let it cool. When the third compound was done, the second compound was steeped fully and cooled. He put the water mixture into the rat's tank and let it have its fill of the water.  
>"Here you go little buddy... Let's hope it works."<p>

L covered the dog with a blanket, noting that it seemed to be cold. He wasn't sure what else he could do, so for now this would have to do. He couldn't help but worry about his friend and their dog both. It was the first time in a long time Beyond had been out of his sight and it made him uneasy.

It was getting late and B finally had 6 different compounds and was waiting on the results of the living rat with the liquefied second compound in its system. He had finished boiling the fourth and first compound mixed together and was letting that cool, intending that mixture for the dog. He checked again on the rat and noted some improvement and grinned. He would leave the rat overnight for now and take the steeped mixture to the ill animal in their room.

20 minutes later and he had the new liquefied compound mixture in a bottle and a bowl and closed the and walked back. On the way, there was a brief attack of breath shortness and he paused to catch it before continuing. He knocks on the door and lets himself inside. The elder looked up at his friend for a moment, giving him a sad smile before looking down at the large dog once more.

A flash of worry crossed B's face.  
>"How is he doing?" He set the bowl on the ground and poured the combined compound 'tea' from the bottle and into the bowl.<br>"Not good... He won't wake..." L mumbles and strokes the dog's fur softly.  
>"He has a lot of time... He has to pull through..."<p>

B opened Bear's mouth and dipped 2 fingers and rubbed it on the animal's tongue, letting it know beforehand what was going to be going into its system. He took a hollow syringe and pulled in a little of the water and slowly poured the mixture into the throat.  
>"I've not had the opportunity beforehand to test this on another rat, so he's the sole test subject for this tea. As for the rat I took in, I tried another compound on it and so far... there seems to be improvement."<p>

"Well, it couldn't possibly make it worse..." the elder mumbled and sighed, watching the dogs tongue loll out again. He was gasping heavily and almost seemed to be in the grips of a fit of some kind. B's brow furrowed in worry.  
>"No... Don't do this Bear..." He lowered his head onto a chest and heard something that he'd had before. He took his hand and began to rub the dog's chest at a slow, but determined pace.<p>

L couldn't help but feel for the creature who was so unwell. There wasn't much more anyone could do at this point so he simply had to wild raven returned to the syringe and poured more of the mixture into the dog's throat slowly.  
>"You can pull through this Bear... I know you can..." He shook off a tear that threatened to fall and continued his task.<br>"I'm sure he will..." the elder assured his friend and put a hand on the younger raven's shoulder.

"I hope so... This... this can't repeat itself again... I don't want to see him die like Griffin did..." The very memory sent a tear free and he sniffled lightly, keeping up his task until most of the water bowl was emptied.  
>"We just have to do what we can for now..." the tired eyed raven mumbled and put a hand on the struggling dogs chest.<br>"Rub that for me will you? I will help you and keep tabs on his breathing."

L nodded and slowly starts rubbing the canines chest in the place of his friend. The younger raven places his head on the struggling canine's chest and strokes the soft fur, murmuring silent encouragement to the black dog. They wait quietly together for a while though nothing seemed to change except for the occasional fit from the creature on the floor.  
>"Do you think they're seizures from the medication or just from his condition?" L asked quietly after what seemed to be the fifth or sixth one the dog had suffered since being in his care.<p>

"I suppose it's a little bit of both. I don't know what the mixture is going to do to him because this is a blind test..." He continued to pet the large dog, nuzzling its fur now and then.  
>"Hopefully its the latter, A's medicine is his last chance..." the detective sighed, hoping he was not one of the 1% of the doctor's test subjects that became ill from it.<br>"A is doing her best and we're just helping her out here. I hope my contribution does not kill Bear too... If I kill him... I... I don't know if I could live with myself..."

"I am sure A was right and it is simply to low of a dose to work on rats..." He mumbled.  
>"He has a better chance then they did..."<br>"Yeah, but because he's larger, it might take time to work... If he lives long enough for it to work..." B didn't want to let doubt to cloud his mind, but it was.  
>"You can see his life span as clear as any others can you not?" L had complete faith in his friend's strange skill.<p>

"Yes... but there have been incidents where I've seen living creatures die before they are supposed to... It has happened... I don't know anymore..."  
>"Is that so?" L prided himself on learning all he could about B's eyes, hoping at some point he could fix, or at least explain them for him.<br>"Can you explain those times?"

There was a moment of hesitation before B nodded.  
>"Do you remember that one day we went hunting with Watari? The pheasants he hunted that day were not ready to go... and that worried me. I thought that everything was supposed to die on time. That day when we watched that live recording of an accident scene? All of them were gone before they were supposed to be. That's why I never let go of you when we watched it. I don't want you to go before your time is up..."<p>

The young detective went silent for a long time before quickly coming to a conclusion.  
>"Sudden events must be able to change the time of death in some way, this is not sudden, therefore you will be correct..."<br>"It could change with the slow deaths too... I think. Either way.. I would really like to hope that things improve with him. I don't want to lose him in almost the same way we lost our baby..."

"It seems as though the examples you have given were both sudden and at the fault of other people." The detective mused.  
>"We can conduct tests on this at later dates..."<br>"With Griffin, at least it was because she was suffering. I don't think she would have lasted no more than another day if we had not put her down." He keeps his ears on the chest of the dog and a thought occurs to him.  
>"What if Bear dies because of my mixture? What if I killed my dog friend? He'd never forgive me..."<p>

"As he fights for life, I am sure he is thankful for any help weather it is successful or not." the elder mumbles, "I am sure he would rather die fighting then live in this condition or be put to sleep by A..."  
>"I would spare him such a death. If I really had do... I'd end his life myself. Old Yeller would be proud... but Bear does not have rabies... so I guess not..." The dog's breathing slowed, but was still very rough.<br>"I don't think I can stay awake much longer... I spent the rest of today mixing compounds. I need to check on the rat tomorrow as well..."  
>"I will watch him..." the elder promises.<br>"You can sleep in bed or on my lap, I dont mind..."

B nods and begins to undress before dressing into his night pants and pulling off his blanket and pillow before crawling on the floor next to his friend and setting the pillow next to the young detective's leg and covering with the blanket.  
>"Night Lawli..." he murmured before taking a breath and settling into a dreamless sleep.<br>"Good night Beyond..." L ran his fingers through the thick black hair and watched their canine friend struggle.


	24. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

The wild raven woke from his dreamless sleep to an early morning. He saw that his friend had not moved from his position all night and trained his vision on the sickly dog.  
>"How is he Lawli...?"<br>"A little better actually..." the elder mumbled, going back to playing with his friends hair.  
>"He seems to be breathing easier now..."<p>

B purred a little and leaned into the touch, placing his chin on the older raven's thigh to enjoy the attention more.  
>"I'm glad to hear that... It means that A's medicines and the compounds I mixed are working together to fight his lung tumors... That's good enough to report to her."<br>"Its looking up for Bear..." He leans over and pets the dog for a moment before going back to his friend.  
>"Even a small reduction of 45% would be beneficial..."<p>

"A's medicine reduces the tumors by at least 45%. If my mix can reduce by that much, then it's safe to say I've helped A in her quest to solving the tumor problem on a more effective scale." B's eyes fluttered half closed when the back of his ears were touched, being strangely sensitive there.

"I am sure when its time to use this on you, it will be up to its full potential..." The young detective smiled softly and ran his hand down his friends back slowly then back to his hair.  
>"Y-yeah..." He shivered and felt tingles.<br>""Hopefully..."  
>"It will be, I know it."<br>"I better get ready and check on that rat... If it died, then I'll see what went wrong with it. If not, I'll bring that back to A so she can take a look at it. After breakfast though."

"You can get ready and I'll use the intercom to ask Watari to bring us food." the elder mumbles. "I still wouldn't risk moving Bear..."  
>"Alright. I'll watch him after I'm done so you can get ready." B takes his clothes for the day and disappears into the bathroom and leaves the door open as usual. He starts the water and hops in to start his vigorous and thorough cleaning regimen.<p>

L slowly pulled himself up slowly and walked over to the flat panel on the wall that connected all the bedrooms to the main office encase of an emergency or any other reason they needed to contact someone without leaving the room. The tired eyed raven pressed the button and spoke clearly, "Excuse me, can someone patch me through to Watari's office?"  
>"Sure thing," came a fuzzy voice from the other end of the line, "just a sec." There was a beeping sound and he was connected to there adopted fathers room.<br>"Watari..." the detective mumbled, "can you bring us breakfast this morning, I have a patient that needs my care..."

"I will be there in a few minutes my boy. I will see you soon. Is there anything else that you require?"  
>"No, though I would ask that you stop by and check in on A on the way..." the detective added, "She is very stressed at the moment from a few unsuccessful experiments and she has been forgetting meals..."<br>"I will certainly look into the matter. Though this will post-pone your meal, under the circumstances, I know you understand. See you in a little while." Watari cut the line and stood up and began to walk out of his office and to the girl's dormitories to speak with his eldest daughter.

L padded back over to the dog once more, petting the canine on the head carefully.  
>"I have faith in them A and Beyond..." he mumbled.<br>"You have nothing to fear..."  
>The younger raven was finished his shower and cooled the water for his friend before drying his hair and walking out. He redressed into the day's clothes and looked to his friend,<br>"Your turn Lawli... I'll look out for him for you."

The older male nodded and padded over to his drawer, taking out his clothes and heading straight into his shower.  
>"Watari will be here soon..." the detective mumbled just before disappearing from view.<br>"Alright," B murmured, kneeling down to pet the sickly dog.  
>"It's a good thing that you didn't get any worse Bear. Thanks for getting better. You are a fighter and you don't deserve to be hurt anymore."<p>

The tired eyed raven was very tired and struggled to stay awake through his warm shower. This was his 4th sleepless night and it finally started to wear him down. While B waited for his friend, their adoptive father knocked on the door.  
>"Come in Watari. Lawli is in the shower still." The kindly gentleman wheeled in a food tray with their breakfast where Bear was seen on the rug.<br>"This is L and your patient, I take it?" B nods and continues to pet the ill dog.  
>"My compound tea I made is working alongside A's injection of her medicine. He has improved greatly since last night."<br>"I'm happy to hear this. I was unable to speak with A as she was sleeping, but I will set time aside today to speak with her. L tells me that she has been undergoing a lot of stress as of late." B nods and looks to the bathroom door.  
>"She's trying really hard. I'm just offering assistance. I know she doubts herself, but she's doing a lot better with the tests than she gives herself credit for."<p>

L puts a towel around his waist and slowly drags himself out of the bathroom. In his current condition, he looked more then just worse for wear. Even his usually baggy eyes where worse from the total lack of sleep, resembling more what he would become as the greatest detective in the world and less like the innocent child he still was inside.

"I can understand her predicament, but I can see your point as well. She needs to take a step back every so often, but I know she wants to continue to work on her medicines as well." The younger raven nods slowly before noticing his friend finally coming out of the bathroom.  
>"Watari brought the food in, and he said he'll go and see A later on. You look very tired Lawli. Do you feel tired?"<p>

"Exhausted is a better word I think..." the elder mumbles, heading straight for the tray of food there adopted father brought in for them.  
>"Even if I where to lay down I would not fall asleep, though my body is tired my mind is not..."<br>"You really should try to sleep sometime today Lawli... It will do you good." He gave a small smile before turning his attention back to Watari.  
>"Thank you for the food. I hope your chat with A will turn out something positive." The elderly male smiles and nods.<br>"Is there anything else that you may require today my boys?"  
>"No... Though it would be good if you could send someone, or better yet go yourself, and watch Beyond work..." the dark eyed boy insisted.<br>"I don't trust his lungs wont fail and I want someone there with him..."

The wild eyed raven frowned.  
>"Please Lawli... I'm not an infant that needs diapers to be changed every 2 hours. I was fine all night with mixing my compounds. I just need to see if the rat survived and do tests from there. Look, I am even going to take my medicine right now to ensure they will be good for most of today." He goes to his bedside table and takes his puffer and his dose of the medicine he needed before returning to the floor.<br>"You take it with you." the detective mumbles.  
>"If you feel even slightly off, take it and come back alright?"<p>

"As you wish..." he murmured. He goes to the tray and takes his bowl of wheat cereal and fruit and mixes them together. He looks at the jam suspiciously, still unsure if it's the good kind or that sour stuff. He does not risk it and digs into his cereal instead. L does the same though this morning he lacks his usual enjoyment when eating, picking at the fruit with his spoon and sighing. He was really exhausted.

The younger raven stands up when he is finished and puts the food on the tray. He walks to his friend and places a chaste kiss on his cheek.  
>"I'll see you later on Lawli." He gives another before taking his puffer and walking out the door and back to the lab.<p>

L nods and continues to pick at his food. There was so much on his mind that sleep had become impossible. Losing Griffin, his friend's health, his new job, the sickly dog now on there floor and how A was so stressed she could barely talk or think about anything but work...

The trip to the lab was more of the same, but he handled it in the same manner. He checked the lock to be sure it was open today; relief crossed his features when there was. He let himself inside to see a few other students sharing the space. He goes to his station and looks at the rat in the holding tank, noting that it had died. He frowned and put on his gloves and mask, removing the scalpel from the drawer to begin the task of cutting the animal open.

While Beyond worked L would spend his day laying down on the floor next to there sick canine. It was all he could do to try and comfort the animal who was looking so horribly sick.

With lungs removed, B cut them open and checked for tumors. There were far less, so much less in fact that the animal should not have died. What killed it? Was the compound the wrong one? He did a quick check to the corpse to be sure no one had killed it while he was gone. Nothing was snapped or broken. He reviews his notes and compound mixtures and double checks to see what went wrong. By all means, it should have lived. He sighed heavily and begins the next task of removing pieces for microscope viewing. He barely caught the snicker from one of the students and his gaze trains itself on said student.  
>"What was that snicker for?" He puts the scalpel down and looks with an increasingly suspicious gaze at who he now assumed was responsible for an unseen crime to the rat.<p>

A had walked in at just that moment, coming to find her older brother from her own lab. She took one look at the situation however and knew there was going to be trouble.  
>"B, are you alright?" she asked, looking back at H for a moment who seemed to be suspicious. B didn't remove his gaze and glared.<br>"We HAD a successful recovery... and this ignorant prick killed it somehow..."  
>"You did?" A's eyes widened slightly.<br>"That's great news! I have great news to!" she wanted to remove B from the rapidly escalating situation any way she could.

"You have no proof that I did anything 'Beyond'. For all you know, that rat could have died on its own after the mixture that cured it also poisoned it. Just saying." B's fists clenched, wanting more than anything to attack the older, but restraining himself.  
>"What do you have to show me A?"<br>A takes her friend's hand and leads him out and across the hall, directing him to the microscope. "Check it out! batch B13#," she chirps and slides the lung under the microscope, "86% reduction in size! its practically gone!"

B looks into the slide and scrutinizes it, noting that his sister was right. He smiled and looked back at her. "How did you do it? How did you get it from 65% to 86%?"  
>"Luck mostly... but all ten rats in this batch show from 80-86% percent recovery in just 7 days..." She grinned widely.<br>"The trick to it was dosage, I thought if I couldn't give them heaps all at once without overloading them I would give them heaps more over 7 days!"

"This sounds like it could help out Bear a lot. He's still very ill and the tea I gave him helped him helped out a little bit more. Lawli is watching over him right now... Now that I think about it... Perhaps we should go and check up on him. He's nothing short of exhausted as of late. If we can take Bear off his hands, we can let him try to sleep a little while."  
>"Or you could take some more of your tea and a day's supply of this B13# and go fix him up yourself." A chirped.<br>"That way I can keep working, and you can make sure our insomniac panda sleeps!"

"That sounds good A. Bear has been resting a lot. I'll take some of his food with me for when he recovers more so he'll have something to eat. I know what can help Lawli sleep too for that matter. He does need his rest. If there's any more help you want A, I'm free for today, so you know where to go."

"I'll be alright! I have some work to do on this supper strong version of the drug to make it perfect, but other then that its all easy stuff!" She went to the fridge and removed 3 of the remaining vials, each with the label B13# on the front and three fresh syringes, putting the vials lot in a refrigerated container.  
>"Bear needs all of these over the course of the day with no less then four hours in between each one or he will overdose." She instructed, tapping her thumb to her lip for a moment.<br>"Use a fresh needle every time and remember to plug this container in as soon as you get back so it stays cool... and B... If you want to share this lab you can... I have it all to myself so no one will bother you, just keep everything in the other fridge and label everything really clearly... I don't want to use pesticides on my test animals instead of medicine..."

The younger raven mentally filed all information away and smiled when everything was absorbed.  
>"I will do everything and I will not forget. Thanks too for coming in when you did... I don't think it would have gotten any better if you did not interfere. I will make use of your lab to keep my studies going as well." He takes all items and manages to balance everything before going to the door.<br>"You're an angel A, you really are." He smiled before taking his leave and directing his path to the shared room and letting himself inside. The young doctor smiled to herself, finally feeling as though she had managed to gain her older brother's trust after so many years together.

B walked inside and set the items on his bed and organized them, making sure to plug in the cooler first of all before attending to the remaining items. He set the large baggy of food at the foot of the bed and looked to the dog and then his friend who was still laying beside it.  
>"Lawli... you awake?" He removed one of the vials and one of the needles supplied and began to withdraw the medicine.<br>"Yes..." the detective mumbled simply, adjusting the pillow beneath him and looking up at his friend.  
>"What is all that?"<p>

"This is going to cure Bear," he said with a smile.  
>"A figured out a method that can reduce the tumors by 86%. This is batch B13# and the most successful of them. I need to give Bear a shot now and another 4 hours from now. The vials are kept in the cooler to prevent being made unusable." He walked with the needle and petted the dog's fur before injecting it with the medicine.<br>"If all goes well, by tomorrow we could have a normal healthy dog. Also, you really should rest. I'm here and I'll watch over him."

The detective gave a small smile and closed his eyes for a moment.  
>"I have already tried though, there is simply too much on my mind..."<br>"Hmm..." B brought an index finger to his lip in thought. L reached over and stroked the big black dog softly, running his fingers through its short and rough fur. He could only hope that the animal would recover quickly and its coat would be full, black and shiny as it should be rather then scruffy and falling out like it was now.

After some time in thought, B huffed out a sigh.  
>"If I could take your thoughts for one day, I would Lawli. I just don't know how I can help you out here..."<br>"You shouldn't worry yourself, this is simply how I am and I am unsure if it will ever be able to change."  
>"Hopefully it's not going to start taking over you. I think I know of at least one way to help you rest a little while. My mother used to do it to me once. It worked for me, and it might work for you, but it's worth a try. Come here." B sat on the detective's bed and motioned him beside him.<p>

L tilted his head slightly to the side like a curious little kitten and slowly crawled up onto the bed next to his friend. The younger raven takes L's shirt off and gently sets him onto his stomach.  
>"Just relax..." He begins to gently move his hand up and down the older raven's back. L slowly relaxes and closes his eyes, cuddling into the pillow while his friend rubbed his back. It was calming and made him hum happily.<p>

"My mother did this whenever I couldn't sleep and this usually worked." He petted slowly and traced a random pattern. There was another soft hum from the elder raven as he thought back over his own now passed parents and how he missed them. B didn't say anything more, letting his hands wander slowly and petting his back softly. He leaned over and placed a soft kiss to the back of the neck before continuing. The grey eyed boy shivered and whispered a soft 'thank you' to his friend as he enjoyed the others touch, slowly letting it lull him to sleep.

"You're welcome Lawli," he replied with a soft smile. He turned his attention to the dog who had fallen asleep. He placed another soft kiss on the older's back and would stop his attentions when he was certain his friend had fallen asleep. L would be lost in his deep, dreamless sleep until the next morning. His body thankfully recharging itself from spending so long with a mind on overdrive.

B would stay up all night with the black dog, never missing a shot and giving it a little more of his tea mixture at a time. Hours would go by and Bear's health would improve almost immediately, becoming a little more animated, but still having his movement restricted by a coughing fit. By the following morning, the dog would be able to stand again and eat a little of the food B had taken with him. The large dog was still in the middle of its small meal when B saw that the detective was waking up.

L's eyes opened to see a wobbly dog drinking some dry dog food that B had soaked in his tea to make it soft enough for him to eat. The creature was wheezing so loud you could here it from where the detective laid, but its tail was wagging slowly.  
>"He's up?" L mumbled and slowly climbed out of his bed to the boy and the dogs side. He noticed that A had been here at some point, giving his friend a second days worth of vials. Watari to had been there, he could tell from the now empty bowls of food on their desk.<p>

"Yeah, he's due for another shot in 2 more hours. He is looking better already. A is a miracle worker." He smiled and petted the dog before yawning softly.  
>"Every 4 hours he gets another one. He's had 2 shots since you went to bed, which means you got a full night's sleep and then some."<p>

"Really?" It seemed hard to believe that he could even sleep that long, but B had no reason to lie to him so it must be true.  
>"Really. You were in a deep sleep. I even covered you up after the 3rd hour. I figure anything past 3 hours means you are in deep sleep."<br>"I was unsure if that was even possible anymore..." he mumbled and finally moved to pet the shaky dog.

"You and me both. Either way, the both of you look a lot better than you did yesterday." He smiled before standing to strip himself for another shower.  
>"I have to agree with you there..." L mumbled and stripped himself down as well.<br>"Can I get in the shower with you?"  
>"Sure, I don't mind. I don't take long in there anyways." He tossed his dirty clothes into the hamper before walking into the bathroom. The young detective did the same and followed his friend, hoping the boy wouldn't burn him with the water.<p>

B turned on the water and found a temperature that was not too hot nor too cool.  
>"If that works for you Lawli, we can both go in without complaint." He walked inside and reached for the soap and waited for his friend.<br>"We can wash each other too if that's alright."

L nodded and slipped into the shower cautiously, happily finding it to be a very pleasing temperature.  
>"Glad you like the temperature too Lawli," he murmured, lathering the soap bar and starting to clean his friend's upper back. With his friend, he kept the cleaning pace slower, but no more meticulous. The elder was once again so calmed and soothed that he begun to hum. It was almost enough to send him back to sleep. The younger raven worked his way to the lower back and cleaned that area and going back to his arms and lifting them up to scrub one at a time, armpits included.<p>

L leaned into his friends every touch, enjoying the entire experience. He just wanted to get in with Beyond to save time, but to the panda eyed raven this was a million times better. B started to clean the back of the older raven's legs, smiling at his friend. After that, he cleaned the detective's bum last before he would turn his attention to the front. The dark eyed raven stopped his friend after a moment, taking the soap from him with a soft smile.  
>"Your turn."<p>

B nods and turns around for his friend with a smile and slightly spreads his arms for the older. The dark eyed boy slowly cleaned his friend, being almost impossibly gentle about it in a way that sent visible shivers through the wilder. The younger raven hummed in contentment, shuddering and shivering in a pleasant way.  
>"Mmm... feels good Lawli. You're so gentle..."<p>

The detective only hummed lightly in response, continuing down his friends back, but wrapping his arms around him to get to the front every now and then. Scarlet eyes fluttered halfway and he leaned back into the older raven with a sigh. Even when L had finished he decided not to stop, seeing his friend was clearly enjoying it even if cleaning him was no longer necessary.

B felt the older raven's hands over his chest and stomach and his breath hitched.  
>"W-what are you doing?" he breathed. He didn't want him to stop, it felt good. The elder paused for a moment, unsure himself of what he was doing.<br>"Just making you feel alright..."  
>"F-feels good..." He shivered and felt himself warm up all over. He edged them back to the wall so he could brace his weight on his friend's chest without collapsing.<p>

He smiled softly and started to massage his friend, glad to create a good feeling for the blood orbed raven. The wild raven let out a soft moan at the attention he was receiving. He usually liked to do this favor to his friend, but to have it done to him, it was nice, it felt nice. L continued his efforts until the water started to turn cold, which to L said they had been in the shower for somewhere between 25-minutes though it didn't matter to either of them.

The wild raven's breathing had picked up considerably the whole time. When the water began to run cooler, he started to shudder uncomfortably. He stepped out and wrapped a towel around himself, ignoring his body's reaction to the treatment in favor of warmth. L followed not far behind his friend, putting his arms around the other and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.  
>"I love you..."<br>"I love you too Lawli," he stuttered out and returned the embrace, placing a couple kisses to the neck area before parting. He walked out shivering and chattering his teeth.

Before he could get to far from the detectives side L wrapped a towel around his waist and took another, starting to dry his friends'. B was a little shocked, but welcomed the drying friction and the heat it caused. He looked and found a towel that was smaller, but would suit its purpose and began to return the favor.  
>"That took longer than I've ever been in a shower before. Thank you again..." He bowed his head so that the older raven could have access to the rest of it.<p>

"That's alright Beyond," the elder mumbled back in his usual monotone.  
>"I enjoyed it..."<br>"You give good massages. I enjoyed it too." The younger raven pulled him into a hug and kissed his neck for a little bit before parting and going back into their room to dress up.

L dried himself off before following his friend, pulling on his usual blue jeans and white shirt. "Bear looks happy... really sick... but happy..." he noted, seeing the dog, resting on its side on the floor, his tail wagging slightly upon seeing the boys.  
>"Yeah, He looks a lot better. I have less than 2 hours until I give him more medicine." B pulled on blue jeans and a dark grey shirt this time and crouched on his bed and looked at animal and friend before laying on his back and resting his eyes.<p>

The older started to stroke the dog which licked his arm in response. He was slowly coming to understand the canine's language though for him it was much harder then mastering what Griffin was trying to say.  
>"So this could be used on you the same way?"<br>"Any living thing enjoys a little affectionate attention," B sighed.  
>"You pet a dog, cat, human or rodent on the head, they respond to it. Griffin loved having her chin scratched. Bear loves having his ears petted and rubbed and I like it when you pet my head also. The head is an area that generates calm for many things." B sighed again and rolled to his side.<p>

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1


	25. Mature 4

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

A/N: Mature content

Mature Part 4

"Interesting..." L crept up on the bed and started petting his friend, rubbing his ears gently. Tingles went down B's spine at having his ears rubbed. For whatever reason, his ears have always been sensitive to touch, even his own. The attention to his head felt really good and he leaned into the detective and hummed in contentment.

The detective slowly started working on both of his friends ears, rubbing careful circles around and around his ear lobes. Little sounds escaped that B had no control over. He pressed himself more against the older raven and shivered more.

L slowly laid down on his friends body, working up and down the other boys ears and finding every sensitive spot.  
>"L-Lawli..." It came out as a combination of a little mewling sound and a slight moan. He squirmed a little and closed his eyes tightly.<br>"Nnh... F-feels g-good..."  
>"Good..." he purred back, not letting up for even a second.<p>

B squirmed more and gripped the bed sheets tightly and let out more sounds that increased in volume. He bit his lip in an attempt to silence himself. The older leaned down and kissed the back of his friends neck tenderly. A muffled moan escaped the younger raven, but he didn't release his grip on the sheets. His sensitive ears were enhancing the pleasured sounds that were being muffled.

Upon finding all of the sweet spots on the boy's ear he started moving to massage his back, looking to find every sensitive spot on Beyond's body. B slowly relaxed when the attentions to his ears had finally stopped. His body had warmed and the sensation of his friend's hands against his back was welcomed. He let out a soft moan when his shoulder blades were touched, causing him to arch his back into the contact.

Like a dog on a scent, he searched out each and every tingly spot on the boy's body, watching for those little hairs to rise and the tell tail shivers. The younger raven didn't disappoint, reacting to every touch and caress to every sensitive spot with muffled sounds, moans and shivers. His body had also begun to react to the attention, making him feel almost uncomfortable in his jeans. He parted his legs in an attempt to relieve the growing pressure there.

L paused for a moment, seeing his friend shift slightly.  
>"Are you alright?" he asked, wondering if he had somehow caused discomfort.<br>"N-no... it's fine. D-don't stop..." B panted and parted his legs a little more. His grip on the sheets tightened a bit more at around the same time.  
>"Roll over..." he mumbled, wanting to start his hunt on the front of the other raven.<p>

The younger raven nodded and slowly rotated himself on his back before taking back his grip on the sheets with his legs still parted. He was blushing and panting lightly. The dark eyed boy sat across his friends legs, sliding his hands over the boys chest and starting his painstaking task anew. Scarlet eyes closed and he let himself be lost to his friend's attentions, panting, shivering and moaning lightly. The pressure building in his groin caused him to squirm more often.

L never let up, tickling his friends chest with soft touches. He ran his fingers around his nipples and down over his chest and stomach. B let go of the bed sheets and brought his hands to his friend's waist and trailed them upwards and back down. The panda eyed male closes his eyes and enjoyed the others touch. It felt good on many levels.

With a slight hiss of discomfort, B pulled his friend on top of him and held him in an embrace, letting his arms trail down the back of the older and leaning in to kiss his neck tenderly. L's attentions where forcibly halted by his friends embrace. He squirmed a little, making himself more comfortable against his friend.

The little friction caused made him gasp and arch a little, but returning his attention to the older's neck, kissing and licking around the spot he knew was highly sensitive. His left hand trailed and snuck into the older raven's jeans and explored the soft flesh there again. It was L's turn to moan loudly, starting to enjoy his friends attentions more and more.

The loud moan startled B and he reacted by clamping a hand over his mouth before continuing his attentions. If they were heard, it could be a bad thing for both. He gave the older raven's cheek a squeeze and pulled him closer still. He wrapped his legs around the older and held them there. The friction made the detective scrunch his eyes shut and cry out softly.

B stopped his attentions and shivered a little more.  
>"Are y-you ok L-Lawli?" He panted out, loosening his leg's grip on him, but not unwrapping them.<br>"Y-yeah..." he mumbled and looked down at the growing bulge that was hidden away. The younger raven nodded before letting him go.  
>"You can go back to what you were doing Lawli... It feels really good..." His legs parted more to relieve the pressure there and he shifted a little to get comfortable.<p>

L started his massage again yet this time the young detective rubbed his now erection against his friend's slightly. The wild raven gripped the sheets tightly and turned his head to the side, panting lightly and unleashing more of the uncontrolled pleasured sounds. The dark eyed raven attacked the raven's now exposed neck with feverish kisses. To him this was a feeling better then any other and he muffled his voice in the smaller boy's neck.

Once again B muffled his voice with his lower lip and held his eyes shut, whimpering and moaning at his friend's attentions. His legs spread as far as they could go, his body wanted something badly; he didn't know what it was, but he was desperate for it, pushing his hips down.

The grinding continues, trying his hardest to give them both the best feelings possible from the action. He knew he had to keep quiet, but the older raven so badly wanted to call out.  
>"P-please..." The younger begged, though he was not sure of what he was pleading for. He simply moved his hips down to meet his friend's grinding, finding it harder to muffle his voice the closer they got. Somehow without even knowing it L sped up to meet the wild raven's demands, not entirely sure why he was doing so. Only one thing mattered and that was Beyond.<p>

B twisted the sheets and arched his back, letting out a louder moan that was barely muffled. He wrapped his legs around his friend and pulled him close again. The more the detective rubbed, the closer he got to the inevitable release, coming just a few moments before his friend with a muffled moan and uneasy panting yet not stopping his movements until the red eyed raven was done.

The wild raven released not long after, shuddering and groaning in his attempt to stop the moan that would have escaped in its wake. He hugged his friend close after he was done and kissed his cheek and lips tenderly.  
>"I... love you... L-Lawli..." he panted out between kisses. He looked at the clock and noted that Bear's shot was due in 20 minutes. He relaxed and caught his breath before he would give the next shot. The detective collapsed on top of his friend after becoming just too exhausted to even hold himself up anymore. He softly nuzzled into the boy's neck and closed his eyes, letting relaxation take over his body slowly.<p> 


	26. Chapter 22

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 22

After some time had passed, B slowly pushed the older raven off of him and walked into the bathroom and took a tissue to clean his underwear and himself of his seed and tossed that into the toilet and washing his hands. He waited a short time before getting a new needle from the kit and a fresh vial before going to the dog and giving it another shot before petting the animal's head and ears. He goes back to the bed and lays himself down, pulling the older close to him to rest. L gladly snuggles in, feeling the cold for the first time and trying to escape it. He pulled the blanket over him self and his friend and shivered slightly. It was getting colder.

"Lawli..." whispered B, "I think I now know more than one way to let you sleep better. Though the back rub is a lot quieter." He hugged the older closer and closed his eyes at last.  
>"That's very true." The elder gave a tired and half hearted laugh, sounding as though he could fall asleep any moment.<br>"I wish I could sleep, but I can only rest right now since I'm on a schedule for Bear's injections. I will rest with you though." He pulls the older closer still and nuzzles the elder raven's chest.  
>I don't need to sleep however..." the elder mumbled.<br>"I can wake you in four hours if you need..."  
>"Thanks..." he murmured, nuzzling more and pulling the blankets more onto them for extra warmth before drifting into a peaceful rest, something he only had when the detective was there.<p>

L would watch over his friend for nearly four hours when he finally shook his shoulders to wake him, not just because Bear was ready for more medication but because the dog was now sitting up and whining for attention, still not strong enough to get to the boys bed.

Scarlet eyes opened and saw L's name pop up before directing his gaze to the large dog and smiling.  
>"He's getting stronger all the time," he murmured tiredly. He yawned and crawled out of bed, preparing his medicine and getting more food and tea for him.<br>"You'll get all the attention you can handle big boy, don't you worry any." He petted the dog's ears and gave the injection before petting him more. He left the food to soak in the dish for the time being.  
>"Just wait a little while longer Bear and you'll get fed."<p>

The older rolled out of bed and next to the big dog, stroking its back happily. The fact that A's treatment worked meant more to him then just a healthy dog, it also meant he could finally have a happy friend that could run around like a normal 12 year old.

B stood up and opened the curtains, noting some new snow covering the grounds. It was perfect for building a snowman army, but that would have to wait until their dog was all better. He also looked to the calendar and noted that L's birthday was coming up.  
>"Lawli, is there anything that you would like to do at the end of this month?"<p>

The elder tilted his head to the side, he always shared his birthday with his friend because Beyond did not know when his real birthday was and he would always pick something for the two of them.  
>"No... but..." an idea slowly formed in his mind, a brilliant idea which needed to be followed through with.<br>"I need to ask Watari for some new cases, we can get the money and do something really good..." It was a half truth; his true intentions would be one of the best surprises of his young life.

"Alright, as long as it's with you, I don't care what we do." He smiled and turned his attention back to his friend and the large dog and shared the attention giving with him. A short while later and B took his tea soaked dog food from its hiding spot and gave it to the hungry canine.  
>"Alright, I will return in just a moment," he mumbled, slipping out of the room and making his way to their adopted fathers office, knocking and entering quietly.<br>"Watari... how much money is in my account from all those cases I have taken."

The elder male looked up from the week's reports from the staff and gave his son a warm smile.  
>"I will pull up the savings records for you." He stands up and walks to a safe and turns the combination lock before opening it and pulling out financial records for the students with employment. He flips through until L's alias comes up and turning his attention to the young raven.<br>"As of now, your savings are at 105 thousand Pounds from the cases you took. The highest paying one so far is the one for Rufus. You were paid 70 thousand Pounds for that case alone. Might I inquire as to why my son?"

"Do you recall in a news paper this week, an article regarding a shelter that is to be shut down unless it is purchased and put under new management due to animal cruelty?" He walked over to Watari's desk, seeing the exact news paper set aside.  
>"I wish to buy it, make the necessary adjustments, re-staff it and turn it into a non kill shelter... then I wish to present it to Beyond for our birthday this year..."<p>

Watari's smile grows wider before he files the folder back into the safe.  
>"I am sure that Beyond will be more than happy for this gift. I will see what the total cost will be for this and if it is within budget, I will put the funding towards it. You are a selfless person when it comes to Beyond. His happiness will be your gift in return, I assume? Well of course it will be." He clears his throat and walks back to his desk.<br>"By the way, I spoke with A regarding her stress yesterday. She told me many things in confidence, so I cannot reveal to you what she said, but I can assure you that she is less distressed now."

"According to the news paper it is well within budget, they say the cost for the land is 65 thousand pounds... And if I spend 25 thousand pounds and buy the lot next door and 15 on fixing it to code then it will best shelter in the country..." he smiles slightly.  
>"I want Beyond to have something to remind him of Griffin in a positive way... Visiting the animals there will also create a break from the stresses of work for us both..."<p>

"Perhaps the 25 thousand Pounds should go towards staff and equipment L. When you save enough for the lot and to fix that up, then you can buy it of course, but for the time being, getting it fixed and staffed is a priority if it is to be successful. Afterwards, yes, it will be a completely rewarding thing for you both."  
>"I hope so Watari. Griffin meant a lot to us both and I want this to be perfect in her memory..." He gave a small smile and turned for the door.<br>"Please keep this between us... I want it to be a surprise..."

"You already know that everything spoken in here is strictly confidential my boy. I will have things arranged for you right away. You have nothing to worry about."  
>"Please hide any choices I have to make on decorations, staff or equipment amongst my next cases." L knew that Beyond had promised that he would not interfere with his work, either to help or to hinder. It was something they wished to keep from effecting there relationship.<br>"You don't have anything to worry about my boy. Everything you turn in, ideas or otherwise, it will not leave these walls. I will keep everything you turn in here hidden well."

"Remember that it is Beyond we are trying to surprise... he has foiled our attempts before..." It was easy for the wild eyed raven to find the lizard tank he got for their albino dragon and their surprise was ruined.  
>"Duly noted L. Try not to give anything away with your body language though. You know that he's a human lie detector as well. That is how he foiled us the last time and every other time before that. He's got that skill down to an art."<p>

L gave a half hearted smile.  
>"That is why Watari, I have been made into a human lie."<br>"Quite true, though I confess that I was not hoping you would turn out this way. However, neither of us can turn back time and undo what has been done."  
>"What I have turned out to be is the perfect creature for my chosen profession." He slowly left the room, letting the door close behind him.<br>*What I am to become, what I already have become... I am justice!*

B was occupied with giving the large dog affection, rubbing its ears and enjoying the peace and calm atmosphere created. Bear's head was once again rested comfortably in his lap by the time his friend walked back in some time later.  
>"Welcome back Lawli," he said with a small smile.<p>

L tilted his head to the side slightly and looked at the now peaceful animal.  
>"I wonder what it is that animals think..." It was a stray thought that the young detective couldn't dwell on for too long, but it managed to make its way out there. He thought he understood their cat and yet he knew that when it came down to it, what was in her mind was only known to her.<br>"I would imagine that they think in a way that is similar to our own thoughts, but focused on their perceptions to the world around them. However simple or complex they may be, animals are no different than us. After all, when we are all embryos, we all looked the same, it is DNA that separates us." He continued his attentions to the large dog who seemed to hum in either contentment or agreement.

"Indeed, however from Bear's point of you, who are we?" L crouched down next to the huge black animal. When the canine looked back up into his eyes it was rewarded with a gentle stroke down the back by the panda eyed raven.  
>"Hard to say because we are not dogs ourselves... I would think that in terms of pack mentality we are the Alphas and he's our Beta." B petted the dog's neck and gave it a kiss on the head. There was another curious look from the detective who was becoming more and more curious about the animal that seemed to be spending more and more time in their lives.<br>"Beta?"

"Yeah. I remember reading things on some animal behavior and the like. In the canine world, they have a pecking order. Alphas are the most dominant and protective, followed by Betas, Deltas, Gammas and Omegas... I might have missed one or two others there. The Alphas are like the King or Queen of a pack, the Betas are the next in line, being the Knights of the pack, serving to protect the Alphas and the rest of the pack. Deltas are the hunters/gatherers/scouts of the pack. They ensure there is food and no danger to the pack. Gammas are the Nannies, they look after and protect the pups from harm, usually hanging back from the rest of the pack when they are out providing for the pups and the rest of the pack. Omegas are the social outcasts. They usually consist of those wolves who are unable to do anything of value and are given the leftovers if they are lucky."

L thought on it for a long moment.  
>"Which one of us is Alpha?"<br>"I would like to think that we are both Alphas to Bear. We protect him and I'm sure he'd return the favor when he's all better. I don't really mind either way."  
>"But if it were just us?" To L, the idea of being in some kind of tight nit family group, like a pack, was alluring.<p>

"Umm... Hard to say. We are both equally adept and capable of providing for and protecting each other. We both have skills that keep each of us from harm. I would not know from just those who would be Alpha."  
>"I like that idea." It put a smile on L's face to know that his friend considered them to be equal as he never for a moment thought anything else.<br>"Glad you do Lawli. We make a good pair of Alpha males. We don't submit to anyone but each other. I think it should stay like that." He smiled and looked at the dog who'd fallen asleep, snoring softly.

L nodded and smiled happily and laid back on the ground.  
>"Watari has agreed to give me some more cases so we can do something great for our birthday."<br>"Is that so? I already can't wait." He smiled brighter and continued to pet and rub the dog's ears fondly.  
>"Will we love this gift Lawli?"<br>"We can go out for tea somewhere really nice..." he muses, "and spend the entire day doing what we want."

"I have some place in mind that I've always wanted to take you, and ironically, it is in Japan. I snuck some fliers and newspapers from Watari's office and came across it. I put it to memory hope we can go to Japan so that I can bring you there. My pesticide compounds are nearing completion. I hope to start looking at potential buyers and start earning my own funding soon."  
>"Why don't we do that to celebrate after A gives you this medication?" L suggested, knowing they could enjoy themselves much more once he was well.<p>

"It sounds like a plan, Lawli. From how Bear is progressing wonderfully, I don't doubt the fruits of her labor will be reaped in abundance. She's an angel."  
>"Your attitude towards her has changed a great deal." L mumbled and turned his head to look up at his friend from his place on the floor.<br>"I am sure both you and Bear will have almost normal lungs by the time she is done..."

"I'll have to tell her how well he's progressing. If she knows how well it is working on him, she can use me as her next guinea pig. I trust her enough now that I can allow even that. She's a good person, I'm just not as open as she is, that's the thing." He reaches down to pet his friend's head, playing with the soft raven locks more fondly.

L leaned in to the soft touch and closed his eyes, relaxing on the floor with a contented smile. "She can be a little..." the dark eyed raven thought carefully for a moment, trying to pick the perfect word to describe there boisterous sister, "intimidating..."  
>"She can be, but she's shown that he has complete dedication to her work. That's something I admire in her. I think that she'll go far in her field, as will you." He does not let up his attentions and continues to play with the raven locks.<p>

"And you, I am sure you will find the perfect place for your work." L almost looked like a lazy kitten, stretched out on his back and enjoying the affection.  
>"My contributions are smaller than yours and A's, but thanks anyway." B smiled and wondered just how feline L really was and brought a hand to lightly rub the older raven's throat in a similar way that he used to with Griffin.<p>

The dark eyed raven again leaned into his friend, tilting up his head and enjoying the touch.  
>"No, yours will be just as successful," he stated simply, his voice almost a purr.<br>"Your field is simply one that will be broader, more diverse so you may not be noticed as quickly..."  
>"More work on my end to get the challenge, one I am all too willing to take on." He continues to pet the older raven's throat and smiles. He guessed the throat would be an area of high sensitivity ever since he'd first responded to it when he'd woken from his long coma those many months back. It was B's favorite spot on the detective for that reason alone.<p>

L shivered and pulled himself up, laying his head down on the younger ravens lap next to Bear. Each and every movement from the detective was always smooth and yet fast, another feline trait he was seemingly born with. The younger raven contented himself with laving his very feline friend's throat with soft touches, sometimes brushing his chest before going back up. He was not trying to pull anything, simply enjoying giving affectionate attention to his friend. Every now and then his friend would touch a sensitive spot and he would shiver. He was happy to be there with Beyond no matter what they were doing.


	27. Chapter 23

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 23

As much as the younger raven enjoyed giving the attention and losing track of time doing so, he still had a schedule to stick to. He leaned down to place a chaste kiss to the older raven before gently nudging him and Bear's heads from him so he could prepare the next dose. L frowned and somehow managed to make himself look even more cat like. He was the closest thing to a feline a human had ever come to.

"Don't worry my dearest Lawli, we have all our free time to hang out and have time to ourselves." He repeated the task as naturally as breathing, already soaking more food in his tea for Bear to consume later.  
>"With any luck, this will prove to be an even greater success then her rats..." he mumbled and finally curled up on the bed instead.<br>"I don't doubt that it is already a greater success Lawli." He injected the medicine and petted Bear's ears before joining his friend's side and petting his head affectionately. L nodded and cuddled into his friend, wanting to be as close and warm as possible.  
>"I want nothing more then for you to be well..."<br>"I know... I want the same." He moved his friend and lay down next to him, pulling him close for warmth and company. He leaned into the older's neck and nuzzled it and his chest.

It was amazing how quickly time could slip away from the ravens when they where like this. An entire day could slip by unnoticed and a week followed so close.  
>A's medicine worked wonders on Bear, even better then expected thanks to Beyond's extra medicine. it wasn't clear how much they had shrunk, the only thing that was undisputed fact was that the dog had never been so alive! He could be unleashed in the field and wouldn't stop chasing shadows and rolling in the grass until the sun went down or he was called back.<p>

The younger raven was currently in the final phase of testing his pesticides in A's rented lab as well as developing his medicinal tea mixtures. After re-testing the compound on the rats, he got the results he was not expecting. The rats did get better, but died soon after. B was thankful that he did not attack H then, because he hated to be proven wrong. It did give him room to improve and change, making new medicinal teas for use alongside A's medicines.

"You know, I think this batch is ready to use on you." A chirped and held up a vial.  
>"This is as perfect as its going to get! Bear doesn't have any complaints... right Bear?" The dog looked up from its place on the blanket A had put for him down on the floor, ears pricked up listening lazily after hearing his own name.<p>

"I have the one tea compound that works best as well. I will just need more of the ingredients to start mass producing it. I trust you A," he said with a smile. He looked at the dog he had unofficially adopted as one of his own and gave him a smile as well.  
>"He's improved so much that it's hard to believe he was no better off than I was before the surgery. Then again, I'm still the same way more or less, but still, he's gotten a lot better."<p>

"In a week, you could be feeling the same!" she chirped, "And thanks to you the only side effect is drowsiness instead of aggression which is probably for the best anyway. Don't want to have people over doing it and hurting themselves just because they feel better when they're not ready yet..."

"Very true. How will I be taking this medication though?" He took the vial and eyed it curiously.  
>"Also, what would be a good time frame to take another dose?"<br>"Well, you're actually lighter than Bear so you have to take a lower dose over a longer time..." she mumbled, "which really is no problem at all... I can put a line in your arm so you won't have to give yourself a new needle every time but its still going to be one injection every 4 hours for over a week... the longer you keep taking it the more they will shrink however it will stop working after they have shriveled up as much as they are going to... which with this dose is 80-95%... mind you you're most likely to get something more like 86-90% because very few get lower or higher then that..."

"I can handle that. I've been a robot with Bear's injections in the past. I think I can handle these ones myself. I can package myself 2 weeks worth of tea to be on the safe side. I've never tasted it though and I can expect that it will be rather bitter, but it is worth it in the end though." He put more pesticide tablets into the rat tanks, coating them with peanut butter first.

"You do know that this means no class or work for the entire time right?" she informed him.  
>"For it to work the best it can you need to rest as much as possible and just let it do its thing..."<br>"I have my study books that I've put to memory. I'll just mentally quiz myself when Lawli is working and ask him to quiz me when he's free again. Mind you... it sounds like I might have to miss our birthday... It's less than a week away now and Lawli has promised something special for us."

L looked up from his place at the bench where he was reading over what appeared to be case files, but was in fact also plans for the animal shelter.  
>"It's alright Beyond," L mumbled in mock disappointment.<br>"We can just have it once you're well... It will be more fun if you don't have to worry about getting sick anyway..."  
>"Yes I know, but we've never missed it in the past, even if a couple of them were spent reviving me, it was still celebrated." He put another peanut butter coated tablet into a rat tank and observed the progress of the first rat.<p>

"We will have some cake on the day, and simply have our big celebration later..." To L this was in fact a good thing, the delay would buy the raven precious time to make the shelter just perfect and they could open it on the day and have their first animals taken in.  
>"Fair enough," he murmured with a smile. He looked on a the first rat's breathing slowed, being gradually suffocated by its own constricting airway before the heart started to shut down and lastly cutting off all brain function. It took less than 2 minutes.<br>"This is the fastest one, so I think that this one can be sold off."

The detective shook his head slowly.  
>"It still looks like it causes the animal too much distress, can't you do something about that?"<br>"Besides snapping its neck? No. This one is doing it job and though it seems that it's causing distress, it is not. It is simply natural death simulated on a faster scale."  
>"There is no way to add some form of pain relief?" the detective mumbled and tilted his head to the side. He was trying to pick the toys they would provide in each cat cage.<p>

"The people who purchase this are most likely those who own farmland or work in or near a forested area or ground level area in a heavily populated city. The chances of them ever seeing the rodents in pain is very minimal. We don't want them to have sympathy because the sympathy is not there to begin with."

"Just because the people using your product will be ignorant of what the animal is going through is no reason to make it painful if there is an alternative..." L mumbled, still focused on his 'work'.  
>"Why don't you add the same compound you did when working to take the aggression out of my medicine?" A suggests, tilting her head to the side.<br>"I could try that, but I'd have to start at the halfway point again..." He sighed and began to pack his work away.  
>"I need some air..." He walks out the door and goes to the shared room and puts on warmer clothes for the trip outside. The older raven climbs to his feet and stretches out, following his friend close behind.<br>"I'm with you on that..."

B waits patiently for his friend though on this particular day, he was not in the greatest of moods. He knew his friend was hiding something from him and that was bothering him a little more than usual on this particular day. When they were both ready for the trip outdoors, the younger raven led the way outside and began to stroll casually, but his somewhat bad mood made his movements a little more tense. As they walked, the older of the pair closed his eyes, enjoying the cool air as it rushed past him. He trusted his friend to guide him and not let him fall into a hole or walk into a tree, nor would he run off and leave him.  
>"You should be happy Beyond..."<p>

"I am happy Lawli... I'm just not in a good mood right now. I've never cared about rats and you know that. I've killed hundreds of rats, possibly a thousand or more because I've never liked them. I don't want them to not suffer. They deserve a little more pain than usual. You suggesting that I lower that pain threshold... it annoyed me to be honest..." He continues his casual pace, looking back now and then to make sure his friend was not straying too far off.

"All things deserve respect in life." It was a seed of wisdom from his mother that stuck fast in his soul even after she had passed away. It pushed him towards becoming a force of justice yet at some point was perverted by the idea that the end justifies the means.  
>"You should have told me that when I started killing them years ago. It is hardwired into my mind that rodents deserve to die by a quasi-violent means." He picks up his pace slightly, feeling a little more annoyed.<p>

"Breaking their necks causes them no suffering..." he replies simply.  
>"However if you wish to make your poison as it is feel free, it was merely a suggestion."<br>"True, but who other than myself is going to take the time to hunt for every individual rodent and break their necks one at a time? Certainly not the people I am making this for..." He huffed out a sigh and broke into a jog, wanting to create some distance. He wanted space right now and as much as he loved the detective, it was not in the cards to be communicative with him.

L opened his eyes and paused in place. He really didn't mean to make his friend so upset. The wild raven continued his quickened pace and came across the wall hole. He considered going under, but decided against it for now. He slowed to walk again and kept going, not looking back once. The elder just stared off after his friend, a sad expression taking over his features.

B would take his time going around the orphanage, having mixed feelings about leaving his friend behind like that, but it had hurt to have such a thought suggested to him in that way. This was not going to be seen by anyone. The rats would still die and people would still be happy, would they not? They didn't need pain relief... He huffed out another sigh and kept walking slowly until he'd vented enough. Even after half an hour when it started snowing gently the elder waited for his friend to calm down. The most he moved was to crouch down in the snow.

Another hour and a half had passed before B had finally returned to round the orphanage for a second lap. He saw his friend crouched on the ground and he frowned, feeling bad for him. He walked to the older and crouched behind him, wrapping his arms around him from behind and placing a kiss to the familiar neck.  
>"I'm sorry Lawli," he whispered softly, nuzzling the neck and breathing onto it.<br>"I'm the one that should be sorry..." he whispered in reply, not moving from his position even an inch.  
>"I will stay out of your work from now on."<br>"Thank you... I just don't want to add anything that is unnecessary. I'm sorry for leaving you behind though."

He sat on the ground and pulled the older closer to him.  
>"I still love you regardless... I'm not in a good mood and I may have been a little harsh on you too. Can you forgive me?"<br>L nods and leans back into his friend a little, looking down at the snow collecting on his clothing.  
>"I think I've had enough fresh air now. Let's go back inside. Don't want to worry A or Watari more if they aren't already." He stood up and pulled up his friend, brushing off the accumulating snow and leading his friend back inside the warm building.<p>

Once back inside, the detective padded back to the lab and curled up in the corner next to the heater with his forgotten files.  
>"It's settled then A. I am going to market this product out to a pest control company just as it is. Quite frankly, I don't care if they are suffering or not. As long as the pesticide is doing its job reliably, I see no reason why it shouldn't be marketed."<br>"Its your call B." A mumbled and shrugged, packing Beyond's refrigerated container for him medicine.

That set off a nerve in him, his bad mood this particular day only made it worse. He sighed and opened the door and began walking back outside before breaking into a jog, seeking out the wall hole. Perhaps it was a bit extreme of him, but he was not in the mood to be talked down to like that. L huffed loudly, but this time decided to let his friend have the space he wanted. He would be alright, B had his puffer in his pocket and L watched him take it that morning.

The red eyed youth crawled under the wall and sought out some rocks and other debris to block the hole to stall any potential followers. He cleaned the snow from his person and started to walk to the hideout. He didn't want to go back until his mood had passed. Thankfully they had planned ahead between the last time they were in there and packed more items inside the hole. The cache now held honey, Jam and some dried goods that would stay fresh longer in the cooled space. New additions also included a few quilts and another flashlight with spare batteries in a bag. He opened the space, crawled inside and closed it again before shuffling to the quilts and making a nest. Once this was done, he took a jam jar from the cache and set it beside himself before crawling under the nest of quilts and curling inside.

The older raven didn't think too much on his friends absence until the sun started to set and he still hadn't returned. He covered for his friend during room checks by making it look as though Beyond was already in bed asleep using a pile of their cloths. There was no doubt however he himself was starting to worry even more so when he looked outside to see the snow coming down by the bucket load and the wind picking up more and more by the moment.  
>As soon as the lights were out in the halls, the young raven took his flash light and slipped out of the dorms and into the grounds. Slowly, careful, step by step he trailed through the snow crawling under the fence. He knew where his friend would be and knew as long as he was there he would be safe.<p>

L got about half way when his light went out, causing him to slip and fall in a puddle of water that soaked right through his clothes in an instant. He fought with the flashlight for some time, trying to make it work again though it was hopeless now it was water logged.  
>He pulled himself to his feet and made his way blindly through the dark woods, getting more and more lost. His mind was numb and he was starting to become confused, unsure of what he should be doing. He couldn't even remember why it was that he was in the woods. After a further 20 minutes of wandering cold and alone in the falling snow his body finally failed him, letting him fall face first in the snow only a few meters from their hiding place.<p>

Something clicked in B's mind some time later and he slowly opened his eyes. Something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was. He grabbed a flashlight and walked to the opening. He'd completely lost track of time and when he was welcomed by a blizzard and darkness, it solidified that he would not be leaving the hold anytime soon. That was the least of his worries and instinct told him to turn off the flashlight and trust his gift to seek out whatever it was that had driven him to waken up. He focused his gaze and spotted numbers in the trees and a few on the ground. He scanned slowly before walking out and scanning some more. He walked carefully, that uneasy feeling in his gut grew stronger.

Finally, he spotted a set of numbers from a rodent hopping over an obstacle, but it was no ordinary one. He turned on the flashlight then and was horrified by who he saw. Wasting no time, he jogged to his friend and knelt beside him, looking for a pulse then a breath, relieved that there was one, but barely.  
>"Lawli..." he whimpered, feeling tears falling down his face.<br>"I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."

He lifted his friend and began to drag him back to the hole at a slow pace, whimpering and sobbing softly. There was a medical kit, but nothing for cold or hypothermia. Once inside the hole and with door sealed again, B began to strip his friend of his clothing and pulled him to the nest of quilts and used all three to wrap him up, adding his own body to assist in warming him.

Despite Beyond's attempts to warm him his condition was still deteriorating, leaving his body too weak even to shiver to warm itself. The younger raven began to generate friction, rubbing the cool skin at a determined pace. He needed to get his friend's body warm enough so it can start warming itself up. He attacked the body's hot spots, hoping desperately that his friend would respond to the treatment soon. All the while, he was sobbing and feeling extreme guilt.  
>"D-don't l-leave me Law-Lawli... Pl-please..."<p>

L's head lolled to the side, breath coming in tiny, weak puffs. His heart was slowing more and more and his skin was almost blue. Even as Beyond watched on he seemed to slip further and further away.

B laid the older raven on the ground, covered with the blankets and carefully put himself on top, cradling him from above protectively. He took the older raven's mouth and began to assist in his breathing, gently rubbing the chest as a combined act to warm the chest and to stimulate normal breathing.  
>*I'm sorry Lawli, I'm really sorry... I promise that if you ever wake from this... I will keep you safe... I will protect you from harm... I won't let anyone hurt you anymore... You're my Lawli and no one else's.*<br>With his other hand he continued to warm the older raven's body, hoping for a miracle.

After what seemed like an eternity the dark eyed raven begun to stabilize. He was so weak he needed assistance breathing now, but he had at least stopped deteriorating so quickly and even improved slightly. Diligently, B continued his efforts, helping him breath and warming his body a little bit at a time. When he could, he placed tender kisses to the older raven's head and neck. He crawled underneath the nest of quilts to start letting his body heat radiate and accumulate.  
>"I love you Lawli, don't leave me behind..."<p>

It took almost the entire night for the dark eyed raven's body to start working as it should. It started at first with a tiny shiver that lasted only a moment before stopping again. After a little more coaxing however it took over, causing his body to shudder and shake in a way that would have been disturbing to watch if Beyond didn't know this meant he was recovering ever so slowly. The younger raven continued to rub the detective's skin even as his body was now jump starting into survival mode.  
>"I'm here," he whispered, "I'm not going to leave you behind my Lawli. I'll make the cold go away. I'll make you all better again." He kept his weight on the older gently, letting his body warm the older in the slowly warming space.<p>

B even managed to get a soft moan in response at one point though the moment of consciousness was quickly stolen away again by the darkness. It was a stark reminder that even now, seemingly recovering, the detective could deteriorate devastatingly quickly and wouldn't be safe until they were found.

The younger raven would not stop his efforts until his friend was coherent enough for him to return and fetch help for them both. He knew by common sense doing so now would ultimately kill his friend and that was a risk he was not willing to take.  
>*Come on Lawliet... you can pull through... I know you can...*<br>He digs out of the nest and grabs his jam jar and opens it, taking some into his mouth, but not swallowing it. If L was able to get some of his energy back when he was coherent enough, it could help. He let the jam warm inside his mouth until then.

Again there was a soft, painful groan, but this time he didn't fall straight back into unconsciousness. The older males dark, unfocused eyes opened slightly, unable to make out much of anything.

Scarlet eyes saw numbers flash above and he immediately looked at them, hoping they have not altered or changed. To his dismay, they lowered a little, but the good news was that right now his friend was slowly coming to. He wanted to speak, but his mouthful of jam was preventing him from doing so. He simply continued his efforts in silence, nuzzling his neck and cheek tenderly in between.


	28. Chapter 24

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 24

L couldn't speak. He could still barely breath. He shifted slightly and gave another groan. Nothing made sense to the tired eyed raven. Everything was trapped in a hazy blur. The wild raven did not know how much time had passed, only that he'd spent every second, every minute and every hour helping his friend become slowly more coherent. Every new sign of improvement from his friend sent good feelings to his heart, encouraging him to work harder in accomplishing his task of warming the older raven.

"B... B-Beyond..." he managed after some time, feeling incredibly confused as to where he was and why he was there. All he knew is that he was tired, cold, and every part of his body hurt. Reluctantly, B swallowed the sweet jam so he could reply to his friend.  
>"Lawli... you're alive... You're safe. We're in the hideout." He decided to use many simple sentences for now, knowing that the confusion would not allow for him to properly process the normal sentence structures that they were used to.<p>

L looked up at the younger male completely dazed, giving another soft cry.  
>"H-h-hurts... c-cold a-and... and h-hurts B-Beyond..."<br>"I know you're in pain. You were in the cold. Do you remember why?" Carefully, but knowing it would hurt his friend, he pulled his legs up and worked on those, rubbing the thighs, knees and shins at a determined pace.

There was a loud cry and tears came to the fearful raven's eyes.  
>"N-n...no Nnn!"<br>"I'm sorry Lawli, I know it hurts. I am trying to help you get better." He does not let up his efforts, continuing to rub the legs, trying to get them warm again.  
>"Let it out. Don't hold back."<p>

The tears kept coming and the dark eyed raven in waves of soft whimpers and cries. He still wasn't sure what was going on and it was clear to Beyond that he wasn't going to be very lucid for a long time.  
>"W-want t-t-to g-go h-home... p-please... h-home..."<br>"You can't leave here Lawli. Your clothes are frozen solid. You are not wearing clothes. The only thing covering you right now are these quilts and myself right now." A thought occurred to him just then that he slapped himself mentally for not thinking of sooner, but he would have to wait until his friend was coherent. He would let the older raven take his extra clothes and wear those when he was coherent and in less pain. For now, he did not stop, would not stop.

"So... so... s-sore... sore..." he whimpers.  
>"I w-wanna g-go go... go ho-home..."<br>"I'm sorry Lawli... We can't go home." He sighs sadly and begins work on the other leg. L whined once more, unable to understand why he couldn't go home in his nice warm bed. There was a moment where his consciousness even seemed to slip away once more, his eyes becoming dull and his breathing hitching. There was only so much that could be done for him in their protective hole.

Knowing that the odds were against him and his friend, it hurt B. He didn't give up though. He determined that perhaps his friend may benefit from some nourishment and he grabbed his jam jar and took a small mouthful, chewing the more solid bits. He took 2 fingers and dug out a little of the now warm jam and brought them to his friend's lips, gently coaxing him to take was being made available.

L slowly parted his lips though didn't have the presence of mind to close it again nor could he swallow, his mind being just too far in its haze to perform even those simple tasks. B rubbed the jam on his tongue and took his fingers out. It would not be enough to choke the older, but to allow him to know what was in his mouth when he was coherent enough. He swallowed the rest and closed his friend's mouth. Carefully, he got into a seated position and then pulled the blankets fully off the older. He acted quickly and rolled out the blankets and positioned the older into a top corner. He would begin to wrap the detective up like an infant in two layers and keeping a third to cover them both. He was soon seated with the older raven wrapped up as snugly as he could manage and cradled in his arms.

Eventually L managed to swallow the warm jam, his eyes closed slowly and with a few whimpers before seemingly falling asleep. B was super tired, but he didn't give up on his friend, rubbing the blankets and whispering encouragement and sentiments of love. Again, he did not know how much time had passed by, but he was certain that by now, their absence would have been detected and help would be sent out for them.

L's condition slowly started to deteriorate again, unable to get enough of what he needed to survive in the small space. Beyond was doing everything right, but it was starting to become hopeless when suddenly there was a scratching at the wooden door that was pulled open by none other then the younger ravens 'angel' and their adopted dog.  
>"B! You're alright! I was so... What's happened! Why is he like that?"<p>

Tired scarlet eyes focused on A, but he only saw an angel.  
>"A... Lawli... He followed me. He must have got lost and he fell. I've been trying to revive him. He's going under again..." he frowned and sniffled.<br>"We have to... get him back home..."

A quickly checked the boys vital signs discovering that they were weak and fleeting.  
>"Alright..." She mumbled, composing the safest plan for the older of her brothers as quickly as possible.<br>"This is what we do. Wrap him up in blankets, keep his head and feat covered... we need to insulate him as much as possible then we can tie the blankets off on Bear and we can all drag him to safety without uncovering him. We just need a waterproof blanket for the bottom..."  
>"We need a tarp or something close. I'll take care of Lawli and the last blanket. Go get a tarp and come back. Please hurry!"<p>

"Alright, there's one in the grounds keepers shed... and rope!" with that she dashed off leaving the huge dog to look into the hole and whine softly. The younger raven began the task of wrapping his friend in the final layer, making sure it was snug before holding him back in his lap and cradled. He kisses the older's lips and cheeks softly, closing his eyes and feeling a tear escape.  
>*Thank you... Thank you...*<p>

The whining dog got out of the way when A returned, making a rough, make shift harness for the dog and setting up a quickly made dog sled.  
>"Alright Bear, you remember how we helped you? Now its your turn to help us!" She knew that he could move him along faster then them both put together. The scruffy black creature being as well built as any sled dog.<br>"Ready... we can tie him in with the ropes then guide Bear back. He won't have any problems pulling L and some blankets!"

B sniffled softly and nodded, cradling L's head and pulling him out head first from the hole and positioning him carefully on top of the makeshift sled and lashing him onto it.  
>"Alright Bear, let's get home quickly and carefully. I'll take up the rear to keep Lawli's head stabilized."<br>"I'm going to go a bit ahead to get someone as soon as possible." A mumbled, "I won't ever be out of ear shot, take it steady..." With that, she checked the harness once more and quickly started on the smoothest path back, clearing big obstacles as she went.

B did a double check on his friend and then walked to the front of Bear and with a tug on the harness, began to lead the dog along the path that A made for them. He looked behind him often, making sure that the small vibrations would not be hurting the young detective.

Their pace was much faster then it would have been without the dog who had no trouble pulling their wounded brother along until they were at the fence. A quickly crawled under and dashing across the field to look for help. The snow was still falling lightly and the dog gave soft whines, squirming under the fence. The younger raven helped Bear along, pulling the harness carefully so as to not collide with anything else. Once back onto the other side safely, B pulled Bear along and continued to check on his friend.  
>"I'm sorry Lawli... I really am... I didn't mean to wreck things for us like this..."<p>

They managed to get all the way to the door before Watari came running out to his adopted sons, looking just as worried as when Beyond had one of his usual attacks. B frowned when he saw that Roger was right behind him.  
>"My boys! Where were you?"<br>"L-Lawli tried to f-follow me... H-he got l-lost and I f-found him. He's re-really ill." Roger frowned, but not in sympathy.  
>"Do you know that you were not supposed to be out after hours? We were looking for you since after 1:00 AM this morning."<br>"That's not important right now!" A interrupts.  
>"L is, in complete honesty, dying. They where pinned down and couldn't move until morning."<br>The younger raven was already untying the detective from the sled and managed to carry him in his arms.  
>"Out of my way... I want to get him into the hospital."<p>

A helped the boy move there sickly friend, trying to get him in and out of the cold as quickly as possible. Watari followed behind, but keeping Roger out of this business. B walked as quickly as he could manage, a plethora of emotions and thoughts flooding his mind. He remembered the way and used his back to let himself through the large doors. The nurses who brought B back from the dead were shocked to see the older raven and made to pry him from B, but were met with a growl.  
>"Leave him alone... I'll take him there myself..."<p>

Soon the pair managed to get the boy on the hospitable bed and quickly worked to unwrap him. They needed to get to his body and start checking his vital signs. They didn't get far when A notices that his breathing has become painfully slow and weak.  
>"Don't leave me yet, Lawli..." B whimpered again and worked faster until he was exposed on the bed, still devoid of all clothing.<br>"You gotta do something! Please!"  
>"Watari!" A ordered and looked back at the older male.<br>"He needs oxygen!"

The attending doctor and assistant were inside and working quickly, preparing the detective for resuscitation. B took his friend's hand and gave it a squeeze before backing off and letting them work. Tears freed themselves and before long B was crying again, leaning against the wall and collapsed on the floor, hugging himself and rocking back and forth.

Soon they had his body wrapped and were giving him warm fluids to attempt to bring him back. They were doing their best though the monitors clearly showed his condition was weakening. Soon they were forced to incubate the dark eyed raven, leaving A to squeeze the bag that pushed air into his lungs. She looked back at B who was getting more and more distressed and gave a sad little sigh.  
>"B, come here..."<p>

B stood up and took a couple steps forwards before collapsing on the ground. His emotional stress was too much for him and triggered an attack. A left her post for a moment, helping the boy to his feet and over to L as quickly as possible.  
>"Take your medicine B, then I want you to squeeze this bag alright?" She continued her task of helping her big brother breath, knowing that if Beyond could do it then it would relieve some of his pain.<p>

The younger raven nodded and dug into his pants, removing his puffer, shaking it and taking the medicine. He stood up again though the hurt never left his face. He took the bag and began to squeeze it at intervals. While doing this, he continued to sniffle and whimper.  
>"Keep him going B," she mumbled and rushed to get more heat packs to put in his groin and under his arms while the thermo blankets where being taken care of by the nurse and medic.<br>"I'm so sorry... I'll keep you safe if you live. If you don't..." He let that hang, not wanting the doctor to hear the rest.  
>*I'll go with you... I promise...* He leaned down to kiss his friend's forehead and continued his task.<p>

It was many hours before the boy in the bed once again started to improve and eventually was almost breathing normally. The wild raven never left his side, giving the breathing task to the clear mask now on the older raven's face. He never slept this whole time, having an idea of what his friend was like normally. Still he remained diligent. The only thing keeping him going were a few jam jars he'd requested.

It wasn't until the next morning when L showed the first signs of waking. A had fallen asleep long ago but Beyond still saw it. His friends eyes twitched slightly and finally opened half way, looking tired and utterly drained despite sleeping so long. Relieved to see his friend waking up, B stood up and gently took the young detective's hand into his own and brought it to his mouth to kiss it just as softly.  
>"Hey..." he murmured tiredly, smiling softly.<p>

L looked around, slightly confused about where he was and what happened. He couldn't remember much of anything about the night before after he left to find his friend.  
>"Lawli... You're in the hospital right now. A and I took you back from the hideout. You followed me there last night." He gently squeezed the older raven's hand and didn't let go.<br>"Hospital?" His voice was horse and tired but sounded much better then it had the night before. Suddenly a few weak coughs racked his body, ripping through his chest painfully.  
>"Take it easy now. You need your rest. I'm not going to leave your side. I'll explain it later when you are feeling better. Just sleep for now Lawli."<p>

L looked up at his friend for a moment and then slowly looked around. A was asleep in the corner and Watari was also dozed of in a chair next to his bed.  
>"What's wrong... with me?"<br>"You... I found you face first in the snow and cold not far from the hideout. You have some frostbite on your fingers, feet and shoulders."  
>"It... hurts..." L's breath was still weak and strained, the mask fogging with each little puff.<p>

The attending doctor was monitoring his health nearby, noting some fluctuations.  
>"You should have left me alone Lawli... I didn't want to find you like that... You scared me..."<br>"I... was... worried you were... out there... in the... the snow... I... I couldn't j-just leave you..." he rasped out, giving another painful cough.  
>"I thought you died... and realized that you were literally dying on me. I didn't want to lose you so soon. I thought about those nightmares I've had about you and I was convinced this was really your time..." Tears freed themselves and he sniffled and frowned.<p>

"I... I did?" To the dark eyed raven, any risk was worth taking in order to protect his friend.  
>"Your clothes were wet and freezing to your skin. It was a good thing that I knew what to do in that case. I had to strip you and wrap you in quilts. I was trying to generate friction and heat. It was so hard because I was feeling upset and guilty. I didn't know if you were ever going to make it... I kept trying. I didn't give up. I would never quit because I love you too much Lawli... I love you too much for you to be taken from me..."<p>

"I love... you too, Beyond..." L whispered and started coughing again, though the attack lasted a lot longer this time and his body was left shaking.  
>"Please... try to sleep. You need to rest so you can get better and so we can do something special..." He sniffled again and frowned deeper.<br>"I'm so sorry for leaving you behind... I should have taken you with me..."

The older male gave a soft smile and his eyes drifted shut again, slipping into the comforting darkness of a dreamless sleep. B stayed by his side, holding his hand and remaining unmoving, unblinking and patient. He ignored everyone else around him, not paying attention to A or Watari when they woke up, not listening to them or looking to acknowledge them. The young detective was all that mattered to him, no more, no less.

There was one conversation that did catch Beyond's attention however. A was talking to the medic and Watari, trying to explain her ideas in full. He only tuned in when he heard something he considered important about the older raven's condition.  
>"He will recover faster in a more familiar environment. If you move him back to his room with Beyond and the oxygen I am sure he will be more comfortable. Not to mention that if B takes my new medicine at the same time they will both be doing well at the end of a two week period."<p>

"It could work, but I would prefer him to be in a sterile environment. This is no different than when Beyond was recovering in from his surgery." B looked back and spoke up.  
>"Let him recover in our room... please. I don't want him to go through what I went through. He deserves to be in his own bed... he told me himself when I found him..."<br>"Stress plays a huge role in recovery." A states, trying to convince Watari more then the doctor, "And as B just said, he wants to be in his own bed. who wouldn't? If you send the cleaner in there to do a quick vacuum and dust then there will be no difference at all! You can send the doctor in three times a day and I will even stay with them if you think it's best. I know what I am doing Watari."

The elder male brings a knuckle to his lip in thought.  
>"Give me the rest of today to think it through. I will let you know early tomorrow. This is my final decision." B frowned at him before turning his attention back to the older raven.<br>"I am not going to leave his side until then. I'll keep him company until you've made that decision..."  
>"May I also point out that it's warmer in their room. There's a radiator near the end of the bed and it's small, if you turn it on now it will be nice and warm for them... this room however is quite cold... There's a heater in here, but the room is so open its just not heating up..."<p>

"I will let you know first thing. Until then, I will send cleaners to sterilize the room either way." B ignored them again and kept his focus on his friend; he was over tired and felt like he would collapse into sleep soon, but fought his body's instinct in favor to wait by his side.

L coughs loudly and catches everyone's attention, his eyes finally opening again with a soft groan.  
>"Lawli..." He took the hand he was clasping and nuzzled it.<br>"Try to sleep... You're not well yet..." he whispered.  
>"I can't..." he rasps back, looking up at his friend with sad and fearful eyes.<br>"H-hurts... really badly..."  
>"Where does it hurt Lawli?" His eyes grew concerned and he looked to the attending doctor with imploring eyes.<br>"My h-hands and my shoulder... my... my feet..."

A frowned and padded over close, unwrapping him carefully which caused him to shiver and shake.  
>"It's the frost bite... and your joints are stiff from the cold..."<br>"You see Watari? Let us go into our room and warm up in there. He's cold enough as it is. If you don't I'll take him from here and carry him to our room myself, with or without your interference..."  
>"You should do that on a stretcher, his joints will be very stiff and painful," she mumbles, "but yes, the warmth will take some of the pain..."<p>

"By any means necessary, I'll get him back. I don't want to see him suffer in this cool room..." He rubbed his friend's hand in his grip gently and determined. He offered a breath of warm air when he could. A looked back at Watari for a long moment before sighing.  
>"I'll go turn on the heater in your room so it starts warming up alright?"<p>

B nods, but not removing his gaze or stopping in his attentions.  
>"I'll protect you from now on Lawli... I'll keep you safe. You're my Lawli, my Lawli and no one else's... I won't let anyone or anything hurt you... I promise you this."<br>A nodded and disappeared to preheat the raven's room for them while Watari sighed in defeat.  
>"I don't suppose you will back down from this?"<br>"No... Lawli should be with me recovering. With A's medicine, I will not be as mobile either. I figure as long as we are both getting better, we might as well do so where we are most comfortable."

"Then I will send a cleaner in immediately..." with that the elderly man left to make his calls and left the two alone with the medic once more.  
>"Beyond..." L choked out, "hurts to... breath too..."<br>"You have a chest infection, possibly mild pneumonia."  
>"A has something for that... I have my tea mix that may help, but I can't be certain, nor will I take that risk... Just stay calm Lawli. Remember how we meditated? Do that with me and calm down."<p>

The older male nodded slowly, trying to clear his mind as much as he could despite the difficulties. It was much harder than usual but soon his body became still, relaxed and calm. The wild raven follows suit and maintains contact, hoping to try communicate with him in a world of their creation in their minds.

L's meditative state was broken suddenly by a wave of pain that caused him to cry out softly. It felt like a spike driven through his fragile lungs and he coughed loudly. Fortunately however, Watari walked in just then, having had the cleaner apparently already finished her work, which told them both that the calm had lasted longer then it had seemed.

"The room is available to you both now. A is inside with your medicine B. She volunteered herself to watch over you both for the duration of your recovery." B manages a smile then.  
>"Thank you Watari... Can you help me move Lawli there then?"<br>The elder nodded and moved to a stretcher, the medic and nurse helping to move the stiff boy who cried out as his stiff joints where forced to move.  
>"I am sorry L, it will get better."<p>

"It's going to be alright. We're in good hands now." He never left the young detective's side as he was wheeled and still when he was transferred from the stretcher to his own bed when they'd got back. The room was much warmer much to the detective's relief. The blankets to where softer and warmer and he wanted to snuggle in and sleep again. B looked to Watari and the doctors and nodded in thanks. He looked to A with a smile.  
>"Thanks for sticking around A. It means a lot for this."<p>

"Any time B," the girl chirped back.  
>"Now I have your medication here too and well I would suggest you curl up with L. I mean I know he is naked so don't feel all weird or anything, but your body heat is perfect to keep him at the right temperature."<br>"It's not like I've been around him in the nude enough times. I've had to strip him to get him warm again A, remember that." Inwardly, he'd never tell her of the events before the older raven was ill that involved full or partial nudity. If she found out, she might be disgusted with them and may never talk to them again. With a small sigh, he strips himself and changes into his night clothes before carefully crawling in next to his friend and cuddling him close, sharing his body heat.

L gave a few small whines but soon became very relaxed and comfortable except for the pain in his heavy, raspy chest.  
>"A... Lawli might have a bit of pneumonia. Is there anything that you can do for him regarding that?" He murmured this while nuzzling a cool shoulder.<br>"A mild version of my original medication could be added to the IV antibiotics he is already getting..." she mumbled, "but it's not one of those things you can just up and expect to be gone tomorrow... It will take time..."

"Right now... we have all the time in the world... though that being said... it's very precious to both of us, mostly him..." He used a hand and began to gently rub the shoulder, encouraging heat to start accumulating there.  
>"I'll go get him something. While I'm gone you can take your first shot and just try to remember your first aid training if anything goes wrong, which I am sure it won't but you know..." A slowly padded out of the room.<br>"I'll be a while, I'm going to go get changed and feed Bear as well... Give me... twenty minutes or so..."

"Fine by me. I know what to do in case of emergencies." B edged out of bed and went to the vials of the medicine A left him and pulled free a needle and filled the tube with the written amount of medicine A had listed before putting the needle just under his ribcage, taking a breath and injecting the needle into his skin. He hissed at first, but got the medicine inside him before pulling out the needle, putting on a bandage and walking back to edge himself back into the bed with the older raven. Back inside, he continued his warming efforts, keeping his movements gentle, at the same time, keeping an ear on his friend's breathing for any problems.

L's body slowly loosened up a little more from the warmth and he gave a small yawn, drifting off to sleep again completely. He still couldn't remember what had happened to him, but for now that was probably for the best. The younger raven kept up his efforts on the side he was on, being more careful around the joints, being even more delicate than usual. He leaned in and placed a few tender kisses to the neck area before continuing his efforts.

A returned after a while and set aside everything she brought with her, working quickly to hook L up to the IV and get everything operating properly.  
>"Listen closely for a moment okay B? I'll tell you what the biggest risks are at this point..."<br>The younger raven turned his head to look at his younger sister.  
>"I'm all ears A. Tell me what I need to know."<p>

"We have to keep an eye out for not only the problems caused by both conditions. First we need to watch to make sure he does not go into respiratory distress, or worse failure, if he does we will have to act fast to revive him or get him on a ventilator..." she mumbles, checking the older males pulse.  
>"Even more serious, if he receives a sudden jolt his heart may suddenly go into shock followed by complete cardiac arrest..."<p>

B listened carefully, absorbing the information and letting that dictate his behavior, actions and reactions around him. He nodded and filed all the information away.  
>"He can't let his breathing become too erratic or he cannot become shocked too suddenly that his heart will fail him. I understand. I am not going to let either of those thing happen to him while he's with me. If you need a place to sleep, you can use my bed tonight if you want. I'm not going to be moving from here anytime soon. I've taken the medicine about 20 minutes ago, so I'm good for another 4 hours."<p>

A smiled and crawled onto the other bed to lay down, feeling a little tired herself from barely sleeping.  
>"One last thing, if his breathing slows you can offer slow mouth to mouth at the rate of his breathing to help warm his insides and he should pick up again... He is just delicate, that's all..."<br>"I know he is... That's why I wish I wasn't in such a bad mood yesterday... It's my fault he came searching for me and is still recovering from it... It's my fault for leaving him behind like that... I wish I didn't... It hurts A... My heart hurts for him..."

A frowns and rolls over to face away from them both.  
>"I didn't mean to make you upset. I'm sorry..."<br>"Don't be sorry A... you did nothing wrong... I was in a bad mood and I needed to cool off. I've never been apart from Lawli for very long. I have always been close to him. He's the one person here that has my complete trust and I'd die for him. I didn't mean for things to go so badly... Can you forgive me for being a jerk yesterday?"

"I was never mad..." A mumbled and closed her eyes.  
>"You should sleep, I've set an alarm to go off each time you need your medicine..."<br>"Alright... Thank you A..." He was overtired, and welcomed sleep, whatever may come of it in the encroaching darkness. He nuzzled his friend's neck and gave it a soft kiss before finally getting the much needed sleep his body had been craving.


	29. Chapter 25

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 25

Fortunately for the pair, both of their recoveries went surprisingly well and while still sick, L could even keep himself awake long enough for them to have a little celebration of the raven's birthday and the younger raven's birth even if it wasn't at the right time of the year. A had even installed a line so B didn't have to painfully inject himself each time with a new needle.  
>"Happy birthday guys..." she smiled and pulled out the dog sled shaped jelly, kind of a throw back to how Bear helped save them. Said dog was even allowed back in the room with them now along with A's oddly friendly little mouse, Smudge.<p>

B was sitting alongside the young detective on the bed and had a smile on his face.  
>"Thank you A. You even made us a jelly. I like it, it means a lot to all of us I think. Can I hug you?"<br>A put the tray down on L's legs and lean down to hug her younger brother tightly.  
>"Of course B!" she chirped, but sighed when she noticed that even before she had pulled away one of the sled dogs had its head bitten off by a very sugar addicted panda. The younger raven smiled, returning the embrace wholeheartedly before looking to see his friend sucking a dog head shaped jelly without a care in the world.<br>"Still no patience, eh Lawli?" He chuckled and waited patiently for A to give him his serving of the jelly, still smiling at his friend who almost looked shocked he'd been caught.

L tilted his head to the side like an innocent puppy and A sighed loudly.  
>"I guess you can have that one..." she mumbled looking down at her creation and noting that it was the red jelly dog he took first.<br>"Color preference B?" she asked, putting the rest of the red dog in a bowl for L who was still sucking away at the decapitated head.  
>"He and I both like red, but I'll have the purple one, it's close enough." He poked at it and watched in amusement at the jiggly goo.<p>

A moved the purple dog over to B's bowl so he could see the little blueberries set inside as there where chunks of strawberry inside L's.  
>"Guess I get the grape one... Bear can have the sled!" she chirped, putting the yellow one into the huge canines bowl which was quickly emptied by a huge slurp of a doggy tongue.<br>"Come on, you didn't even taste that!"

B slowly sucked on his dog's head until there was nothing left of it before moving to the body and repeating the process. He grinned and giggled at seeing Bear being chastised by A. He swallowed his jelly and lifted his head.  
>"I don't think he cares, just as long as it's from you, it's better than nothing at all."<br>"I got you something too... It took a while to find something better then the sea monkeys, but it's still pretty cool..." With that she slowly ate her own treat.  
>"I admit it didn't cost me much, but I could spend a heap on something neither of you would like or I could get you something cheap I know you will..."<p>

"Really? That's so thoughtful of you A." B smiled and returned to his treat that had missing blueberries and tell-tale finger marks that were not there before. He rolled his eyes and smiled before continuing until his jelly dog was finished. Once she was finished, the young blonde got to her feet and walked to the door, picking up a package off of the floor. Inside was a small tank with her first ever bred baby walking fish, there parents where part of her testing in the lab and now these were for them to enjoy.  
>"Don't shake it... water will go everywhere..."<p>

Both raven's eyes widened at the same time.  
>"A... They had babies? That's... that's wonderful! This is seriously the best gift ever!" B smiled and didn't stop smiling, waiting for their sister to set the tank down before going and giving her a large hug.<br>"Thank you so much!" He kissed her on the cheek in gratitude. L swallowed down the rest of his treat and leaned over to hug his little sister as well.  
>"Yes, thank you A." He smiled and looked over to the tank now on there desk next to their albino dragon's house.<br>"Don't worry, I'll feed them every day until you're better!"

"You're the best. I will make you something special for you on your birthday A, you can count on that!" He goes to sit back down on the currently still shared bed.  
>"I don't think this day can get any better. Good feelings all around, the three of us, Bear and Smudge. Nothing better than that."<br>"Yes, this is quite relaxing." the older male smiled, coughing lightly at the end of his sentence.  
>"Soon as we are both well again we can go out into town too..."<p>

"We can do something nice and it will be good." He leaned into his friend and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, something that he's never been able to do before, and smiled contentedly.  
>"Well, I have work to do!" A chirped.<br>"I'll come back when I'm done, and I'll bring some more of your tea while im at it!"  
>"See you tonight then A..." L mumbled with a smile.<br>"Bear can stay here with you today, he gets a little bored in the lab and he is better off here with people to talk to."

"Good... I miss the big lug and... giving him... ear... rubs..." He kept his eyes closed before letting himself fall onto his back and even out his breathing before falling into a short nap. A smiled and slipped out leaving L to watch his new walking fish bob around in the water. A half hour passed before B woke himself from his nap to see L petting Bear and keeping his attention on the little Axolotl babies.  
>"Hey Lawli..." he yawned stretching briefly before sliding to the floor to give the large dog an ear rub.<p>

"Good morning again Beyond..." L mumbled, "Do you want me to give you your medicine."  
>"I can handle it myself, thanks," he murmured, standing up to get a new vial and let it go into his system.<br>"I am so happy that we got Axolotl babies with us now. I want to name one of them Lawli."  
>"Lawli and Beyond." L smiled happily.<br>"Those little things have done us a whole world of good without even knowing it."

"Very true. They've helped to save our hides more than once. We need one called Angel for A, because that is what she is. She's an angel."  
>"I have to agree with you there Beyond..." The boy smiled and ran his fingers through the red eyed male on the ground's hair.<br>"We are lucky to have our own personal angel."

B leaned into the touch and smiled.  
>"Soon she'll be an angel to everyone else soon enough, the world will stat calling her that... but she was our Angel first."<br>"She always will be our angel... for saving you." L had taken to sleeping with his head on the others chest, listening to his newly smooth and now relaxing breathing. The younger raven petted his friend's hair tenderly and lovingly, holding him close and protected. He let his thoughts drift to their birthday. Lawli was now 13 and he was now 12. Many changes were on their way and he had to wonder if any of them were good or not.  
>"I love you Beyond..." L purred and pulled his friend back up on the bed again.<br>"I love you too," he hummed back, letting himself be pulled onto the bed.

The boys spent the rest of the day together like that, only moving once to go to the bathroom and to give Beyond his medicine. It was another week and a half before L was back to his old self but for Beyond, he felt better then ever.

B was back in the lab, working on more plant compounds and creating a variety of tea's, skin care products and shampoo additives. He was peppy as usual since making a full recovery and worked at a much faster, but no more meticulous pace. He was still patiently waiting on L's surprise for them both, letting the anticipation send good feelings into his person.

The older raven opened his case file for the day, happy to see a note from Watari pinned onto the middle page. The note was only two words long but to him, it was no less exciting.  
>'Its ready'<br>Finally after all the waiting, today was the day that his pet shelter would be ready to be opened and best yet, to give to his friend.  
>"Beyond..." L mumbled, "I was wondering if you would like to come out for lunch with me as a late celebration..."<p>

The younger raven turned his attention to the young detective and smiled.  
>"Sure, let me put my things away first." He proceeded to pack his items away and store them away properly. When he was done, removed his lab coat and washed his hands.<br>"Alright, I'm ready to go," he said with a smile. L packed away his files and met his friend at the door, leaving the filed out on the table seeing as A would be the only one coming in here.  
>"Watari promised to drive us when we where ready..."<br>"Let us go to the office then and let him know." He smiled and led the pair to the elder male's office before knocking and letting himself inside.  
>"Watari... We're ready."<br>"Oh, so your going to lunch today?" Watari smiled kindly.  
>"I found a nice place that is perfect."<br>"I am sure it is Watari."

B followed their father outside and to the renovated black car and got into the back seat with his friend and buckled himself inside. He didn't know what to expect, so he only smiled and let his feet dance. L smiled and enjoyed the ride, resting his head on his friend's shoulder. It was a ten minute drive before buildings started coming into sight, eventually leading into an industrial area.  
>"I have a surprise for you Beyond..." the detective purred.<br>"Close your eyes."

The wild raven obeyed, closing his eyes and covering them with his hands while beginning to breath faster in excitement. He knew Lawli was hiding something, but he wasn't sure as to what it was. He giggled and shivered in happy anticipation. As soon as the car was parked he slipped out the door, leading his friend out and to the door where a huge sign was lit up waiting for him.  
>"Alright..." he whispered, kissing his friend on the cheek innocently.<br>"Open them..."

Scarlet eyes opened slowly before seeing an animal shelter, but this one was special. "Griffin Animal Rehabilitation Center." He let it soak before it hit him. Tears of happiness free themselves before L was hugged tightly.  
>"Lawli... T-thank y-you..." he sniffled, burying his face into the older's neck and kissing it. "Th-this m-means so m-much to me... T-thank you s-so much..."<br>"I'm glad you like it Beyond..." L purred, holding his friend tightly to his chest.  
>"Now Griffin will be remembered for a long time to come... and it's all yours..."<p>

B began to cry, falling to his knees and shedding tears of happiness, sadness and fond memories. A few tears escaped L's eyes as well, but soon they had calmed down enough to pull away with a small smile.  
>"Come look inside..."<br>The younger raven stood up a little shakily and followed, still letting tears with mixed emotions fall gently. This was something he was not expecting, no, it was far from it. This was an entire animal clinic for him... for him... from his greatest and closest companion whom he loved more than life itself. L led him into the front rooms; it was all a beautiful robin' egg blue with little flying griffins jumping through silvery clouds at the top. There where two big doors at the back on either side of the counter, one labeled 'cats' with a picture that B once drew of Griffin all curled up on their bed and another labeled 'dogs with a picture of a slobbering Bear just below.

B was speechless, just plain speechless as he let himself be led through the building. He was positively glowing with happiness, letting the tears fall freely. He held onto the older while the tour continued. He leaned in to give the older raven a kiss on the cheek, though it was more heartfelt than usual.  
>"Th-thank you for this L-Lawli.." he whispered, sniffling and placing another heartfelt kiss to the same cheek.<br>"I'm glad you like it..."

The older raven had to slink around for a long time to get B's art books and find the right pictures. The whole thing was quite hard to pull off, but now it was done it was worth it.  
>"There are no animals here yet but there is going to be a vet on staff as well as 2 vet nurses, 2 cleaners and volunteers. Most of the people that will be working here are from Wammy's and want to work for the animals rather than for the money..."<br>"Good..." It was better that the animals would be cared for this way; that way both sides would get something out of it and the animals would be a lot healthier. It was still a job, but a more satisfying one.  
>"I d-don't think I c-could ever equal this g-gift L-Lawli... I-it means a lot... y-you know how m-much it m-means t-to me..."<p>

"Good because it was very hard to get many of these pictures behind your back..." The detective smiled happily, leading his friend into the cat enclosures. Each was a decent size, with plastic toys that could be easily sterilized and separated by a solid wall so they could not spread infections between each other. The front was glass so that people could look in and pick their pet without touching them and again spreading infections. The younger raven felt calmer in here and took in a slow breath and exhaling.  
>"I like this space... I think that I'd like to come here and visit often..." He smiled and looked at each enclosure, seeing if they would suit their purpose well, mentally putting Griffin into each one. He reached out to touch the glass, envisioning their cat interacting with his hand as if she were really there.<p>

"And once they pick their cat, they can take it into the lounge at the end of this hall and play with it to decide if its right for them or not..." he mumbled.  
>"There's also a place here for other animals, like ferrets..."<br>"There are really not enough 'thank you's' that can cover how much I am grateful for this Lawli. I don't know how to thank you enough."  
>"You can thank me the best by enjoying it." L smiled happily and wrapped his arms around his friend.<br>"We're going to have a sausage sizzle for the opening and we are taking 5 cats and 5 dogs from the kill shelters in the area to start," he informed him, "and it starts in roughly an hour..."

"Then let us go back home, get ready and bring A and Bear along with us. They should be here to celebrate as well." He leaned into the embrace and smiled brightly.  
>"Watari is already doing just that, he is picking up those that are to work here, A, Smudge and Bear in the bus right now." He smiled.<br>"I think you will like the ones I have picked out to be our first guests here, there is a three legged dog who was on death row, a dog that has had its ears cut off by its last owner, A blind kitten... I tried to pick those who wouldn't normally find homes so they can get the extra help here..."

"Griffin was one such cat. I found her by chance and she looked like no one would take her... and I thought she looked like a baby Griffin at the time... This will be where the ones who cannot find homes are fixed up so that they can find homes." L nodded and cuddled into his friend.  
>"It is also for those too sick to find homes yet. There are those at Wammy's who will learn a lot from treating them and one of the teachers has volunteered her time to train them each afternoon... I have set up a fund to pay for this for the next year and I'm going to keep adding money when I can..."<p>

"I'll make donations of my teas for the animals as well as a few topical medicines for those with skin conditions. In fact, I'll sell a good portion of my animal medicines to veterinary institutions, but only to this place will I do that for free." He leaned his head back and to the side so he could kiss a cheek.  
>"Let's go look at the dog cages," L smiled, "I haven't seen it myself yet, I had to do all the designs from the house and I want to see how it came out!"<br>"Lead the way, Watson," he said with a smile. He followed his friend into the next section of the building, feeling happy tingling sensations throughout his person.


	30. Chapter 26

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 26

The dog cages where bigger again, with enough room in each for even the biggest dog to roll around and play. Again each room was like its own quarantine yet at the same time still comfortable for the dogs.  
>"Not bad for not being able to see it before today. The backyard out there looks perfect for running around and playing, interacting and training," remarked B with a grin. His heart felt lighter, he felt calmer and felt an overwhelming urge to always protect his friend. He'd done something great for him and protecting him from the dangers of the orphanage and outside forces seemed like the best way to thank him. Besides... this strange feeling of being near his friend was... nice. It was a good feeling, a warm feeling.<br>"I am glad that you approve." With that, L led his friend out to the reception area once more so that they could wait for his little opening celebrations to begin.

The younger raven stayed by his friend's side and didn't leave it, not feeling comfortable in situations where large crowds were involved. He was however very impressed and amazed at the lengths that he'd gone to get this done for him. He held onto an arm and didn't let go. A few people had come from other shelters to deliver the animals for them, they all sat in crates next to the front desk where a very excited T greeted them.  
>"Hey!" she chirped.<br>"Thanks again L for this job! I promise I will take good care of all of them!"  
>"You have B to thank now, this is his shelter after all."<br>"Oh yes. Thank you to B!" she smiled, cuddling a tiny kitten in her arms.  
>"Do a good job T, that's all the thanks I'll give you."<p>

He gave a small smile at her and looked in gratitude at the animals being moved in.  
>"You weren't kidding Eru-san," he murmured in Japanese, "they look like a challenge, but that's what we're all about here. Any animal can be given a home, Bear and Griffin are proof of that."<br>"They're all a challenge with their health problems, however they are also still very friendly and loving, someone will be very happy with them..."

There where a few other members of the team from Wammys here now looking around and with only a short time till they opened even L himself was getting a little excited.  
>"We should put the animals in there pens now so that when people come they can see them..."<br>"I would prefer that they be treated first before we let people see them Eru-san. That way the people can see how far they've come. We can take before and after photographs as further proof of this."

"They will be treated before they are adopted Beyond," The elder explained.  
>"Today is purely to gain public interest. This shelter once was the worst in the area and I want to break that reputation. Besides, some of these animals need no further treatment, simply homes willing to care for special needs animals... the kitten T has for instance is blind, so a home that changes little with another pet to follow is needed however there is nothing we can do to restore her sight as her left eye has been completely removed and her right eye has around 10% visibility... the public needs to see what we are doing here, and that is what today is for!"<br>"I still think we should implement a wall of before and after photographs just for more public interest and to show just how dedicated we are to the well being of the animals here. The ones that are adopted out can have their photographs added to the wall." B hugged the arm he was gripping and let his good feelings radiate to the older.

L smiled and turned to see A wandering around and waved her over.  
>"A, do you have a camera?" he asked quietly.<br>"Yeah sure!" She chirped, taking off her back pack and taking out a medium sized film camera. "Here." The older raven took the camera and smiled, looking around the room.  
>"Where should we put this board?" The younger raven looked around the foyer, seeking out the largest wall and determining that was a good place to put one.<br>"Over there Eru-san," he said with a smile.  
>"We should also take some before photographs of the animals that we have in here as soon as possible."<p>

The detective handed his younger friend A's camera, walking over to the crates filled with animals of every shape and size.  
>"We can do that as we put them in their new cages." B takes the camera and holds it delicately, but firmly in his hands and lifts it up to capture each animal as it was placed into its new holding area. After each snapshot, he begins to shake the white image until the animal held is made visible in color.<br>When this is done, he puts them onto a nearby table until they could properly stick them onto the enclosures.  
>"I cannot wait to see what they look like in around a month or so from now Eru-san. The difference is going to be impressive."<br>"I am sure it will be."

L gave a little smile and led his friend outside to the yard where the healthier dogs could run and play. There was a barbeque where one of the Wammy's teachers was starting to cook sausages and a few members of the public where happily chatting away.  
>"Lets get a sandwich." Shy again, B takes L's arm and lets himself be led outside, not straying from his side as they went to get something to eat.<p>

L guarded his friend even though there was no one throwing insults in this place. In fact, the opposite was true, in this place both Beyond and the older raven where respected for giving the students a chance to work with the animals and get away from the usual classes. The younger raven kept his guard up as well; old habits died hard from having been the subjects of ridicule for so long. He took a paper plate and began to serve himself what he thought looked appetizing and put that onto his plate.

The older followed along and chose what he liked before, choosing a comfortable spot next to the pen to watch the two healthy and non contagious dogs play. one had a missing leg and the other's tail and ears had been cut back to next to nothing.  
>"Lawli..." B murmured, taking a mouthful of sweet potatoes and chewing on it thoughtfully.<br>"Thank you again for this place. I was not expecting an entire shelter that heals those who are damaged so they could find homes in the future. Is it a metaphor for us? Do you want us to one day find a home together?"

The elder also looked thoughtfully at the playful animals. He had not thought about it in all honesty. In fact, there was very little beyond Wammy's he had thought about.  
>"It would be nice..." the dark eyed raven mumbled softly, "a comfortable little house somewhere on a big property..."<br>"That sounds like it would be a comfortable place to live. I would not mind living there with you. We'd both have work so we'd never have to worry about being homeless anytime soon. We'd be able to protect each other." He takes another few bites, lost in thought.  
>"Then again, we'd probably be too busy going abroad to further our respective professions that we'd hardly be home. Unless we wait until technology advances and allows us to do this from home."<p>

"One day I am sure it will…" mused the elder.  
>"The more humans discover the faster we advance, sooner or later we will be able to work from home..."<br>"If the world were run entirely by Wammy's kids, I'd imagine that it would be a more efficient world," B murmured, smiling a little at the animals at play.  
>"A would train a whole generation of doctors and nurses as well as develop some massive breakthrough medicine. I'd be there helping her out as well as developing my own products. You'll go oversees and solve the most difficult cases and gradually make the world a safer place for us."<p>

"This world will never except us if we were to take charge..." the panda eyed boy sighed.  
>"They would fear us. Our intelligence is intimidating to the masses, which is why I doubt any of us could hold a seat of power..."<br>"Perhaps not publicly, but if we do things discretely as we are doing so now, then our power will remain underground and our influence will spread gradually to the surface. United we stand, even if we are never really seen or known to the rest of the world." He chooses to take his sandwich and nibble at it then. There is a nod of silent agreement from his friend as he picks at the fruit salad. Now they had a place where Beyond could feel safe and free from ridicule; he would quickly grow more confident, L was sure of it.

The pair ate in silence before B decided he was full and stood up to take his plate to the rubbish bin and returning to his friend's side. He looked to the building and grinned. He'd contribute to this place and make it the best place he could. He reached up and began to pet his friend's hair lovingly. L looked up from his treat with a smile. He was happy that this was all going better then planned. Not only did B never catch him but he also seemed to truly love the place the panda eyed male put together for him.

"Can we go into the city? I want to get you a cake. I know it's not much to compare to this, but I've been wanting to get you something that's from me on a whim."  
>"As soon as everything is set up here, we should ask Watari to take us..." the older mumbled and gave a small laugh as one of the dogs tumbled head over heels while chasing the three legged mutt. B giggled at the mishap.<br>"Tripod dog has less agility, but still outmaneuvered the other dog. I think Tripod dog will go far and be given a home first."  
>"He definitely will be very fun and loving pet... someone will be very lucky to have him as a pet..." The boy popped a strawberry in his mouth and watched the strange looking white dog jumps up and starts wrestling again.<p>

B eyed the numbers to the animals then, noting the three legged dog would only live as long as Griffin would, the cropped eared dog would live for less. It made him frown. He didn't like this gift. Despite the good memories these animals would give their families, in the end, they would face the inevitable, something he could never see. L saw his friend paying far too much attention to the animals numbers and sighed, taking his friends hand and pulling him away, leading him back to Watari who was standing in the corner with a drink in hand, talking with the young T who was still carrying the blind cat.

As if reading his friend's mind on what he saw, B sighed.  
>"I can't help it Lawli... I see everyone's numbers... you can't protect me from them forever... you don't see things the way I do..."<br>"No, I can't protect you forever..." the elder mumbled, "but I can try."  
>"You can't stop your fate any more than I can stop mine... but you're lucky because I can see when that will potentially be. I can't see mine at all. I live each day to the best of my ability because tomorrow could be my last day. These ideas, hopes and aspirations may be just that and only that..." He frowned, not liking that his good mood had been killed again because his eyes were brought up.<p>

"Humans are not meant to know when there lives will end," the detective stated bluntly.  
>"It would only create fear and cause one to waste there life away in worry... No, it is best you do not know."<br>"I've never told anyone when they would die... at least not to them directly. I want to tell T that she's not going to be living to see her 15th birthday... Do you know how heavy that is on me? How many people I see who are so close to death yet I must see it, and only me..." He was thankful that they were still out of earshot of the elder male and his fellow orphan, otherwise it could have been a bad thing.

"Perhaps these things are not as set in stone as you think, and even if they are then the quality of those last moments can be made to be better..."  
>"Yeah... perhaps... Can we not talk about my eyes anymore though? It's a real buzz kill..." He huffed out a sigh and walked slowly towards T and offered her a small smile and reaching to pet the blind kitten's chin, earning him a loud purr in response, making him smile a little wider.<br>"Hey B!" the girl chirped with a huge smile on her fine featured face.  
>"You really have to talk to this little guy, he is such a sweety even if he can't see much of anything..."<br>"He's a spunky little thing, isn't he?"

He focused his gaze on kitten and T then, it was habitual, a habit he didn't like, but could not help. The kitten would live longer than Griffin, but he knew that he could not raise it. Griffin's death ended any hope of taking another cat into his life. T 's numbers visibly declining at a slightly faster pace than usual.  
>He looked back and smiled, but it was not a genuine one.<p>

"I want to take him home with me, but I think there are better places for him... Watari thinks he would make a good mascot, he could hang around the office and keep me and the other students company."  
>"He would demand a different kind of attention after all. Lawli says a place with another animal for it to bond with and follow would be a better place for him." He continued to pet the little animal with a fond smile on his face.<p>

"Yeah, that's just what Watari said," she said and smiled.  
>"This way things won't change a lot so she won't get lost and she will have other cats to talk to... Plus her special needs can be taken care of... she needs eye drops every day to stop her other eye from getting worse..."<br>"I actually have a natural compound I made that targets eye problems. I can send some over while she's here and perhaps by the time this kitty is adopted out, the problem will be minimized or removed completely."

He looked back to his friend and felt his gaze go a little more stern than he wanted to and he felt guilty almost immediately.  
>*It's not his fault. It's my fault for having this gift. He's just trying to understand things that cannot be understood.* L ignored the moment of aggression and looked back down at the little creature and gave it a soft smile.<br>"I think A wants to adopt him on behalf of the center..."  
>"If that's what she wants, that's just fine. I don't mind either way..." Truthfully he did mind a little. The only mascot that should be representing the place should be Griffin, but she's no longer among them.<br>"As long as he's properly taken care of, he's more than welcome to stay here with us..."

"If the right person comes along I will hand him over; I just want to look after him till then." She smiled and scratched the purring kitten behind the ears.  
>"So T... I heard you were in counseling for some time now. I hope that you're learning to recover from your wounds. It's good to know that there are second chances."<br>"Yeah..."she admitted, playing with the kittens ears, "but it hasn't really been going well..."  
>"That's unfortunate. I know there's a bright spot somewhere in there. You'll find it sooner or later." He offered her another smile and tried to send good energy with it, but it was just not happening.<br>"Yeah, but I think I'll be happier now I am working with the animals." She smiled back happily.  
>"They're much nicer then people... I think I'll like it here..."<p>

B pulled her into a short, somewhat awkward hug before parting ways and rejoining his friend's side.  
>"I'm going to miss her Lawli," he whispered.<br>"I'm sure she'll make the best of it, but I think I like her enough that I may miss her..."  
>"I like her..." L mumbled, "She treats everyone and everything as equals."<br>"All the more reason that she'll be missed, at least by those who care." He gave his friend a short hug before holding onto his arm.  
>"I know she'll be happy here. She's more than welcome to come around as much as she wishes."<p>

"I extended the invitation to her before anyone else; I know she has a love for animals and was sure she could keep the secret from you... I had not told A until today... she isn't as good with secrets..."  
>"Well you know T and I don't interact much, if at all. Your planning for this must have taken you some time, but it's worth it. I love it very much. She's a great addition to this building."<br>"I have chosen only one other member of staff and a swarm of potential candidates..." L mumbled.  
>"I thought I would leave the rest to you..."<p>

"Sounds like it will be... interesting..." He'd had past experience with making decisions like this in the past, but it had been too long. It would be a good opportunity to use his lie detecting skills again.  
>"H actually had the nerve to apply for a position, but I rejected his application..." B growled lowly at the name and his eyes narrowed.<br>"Good... He's been nothing but a prick to us since he saw us. Him and his posse can all die..." The detective sighed but nodded. H was smart however and never left enough evidence to prove that he was the culprit and get him into trouble.

"I take it that I get to look at applications tomorrow? It will be a nice break from classes that I've been passing and do not really need to attend anymore." He looked out at everyone and feeling a sense of pride and love for this place, the people and his friend.  
>"Yes, and every applicant is here today." L forced his friend to separate from his arm and stand on his own, putting a hand on either shoulder and looking into red eyes deeply.<br>"So, I want you to talk to all of them and chose well... you have to be comfortable with everyone here..."  
>"Ah... so it's today then..."<p>

B shifted uncomfortably and hunched over slightly. He felt exposed and naked like this and it showed in his features. He nodded slowly and reluctantly took a step back and shivered lightly as he got himself gathered and composed.  
>"I will be right behind you..." The dark eyed raven had high hopes that this could not only ensure he liked everyone he was in charge of, but also boost his self worth and confidence.<br>"Will you be so kind to hand me the application forms then? I will request that Watari make an announcement about it then take it from there..."

L smiles and heads back to the desk inside, looking for all the forms he will need as well as the files of all the applicants. B walks slowly to the main meeting room and lets himself inside, taking a seat and going into his crouch and taking in and releasing a slow breath. The grey eyed raven walks in not long after, putting the files down on his friend's lap and sitting down next to him.  
>"They're in alphabetical order..."<p>

The younger raven begins to look through each folder, checking the typed names and matching them with the names his vision showed him. He'd found a few whose names did not match the ones on the photographs and wasted no time tossing those off to the side. Nothing got by him when it came to images. L wasn't sure why B tossed out files when he did, but assumed he had his reasons and simply relaxed back on the lounge. He knew Beyond knew what he was doing so he didn't want to interfere. After 10 minutes of sorting out the applications accordingly, he had 10 folders in the tossed pile and another 14 that looked ready for interviews.  
>"Alright... I'm ready for them..."<p> 


	31. Chapter 27

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 27

The older male nodded and took a list of names to the elderly man just outside.  
>"Watari, can you bring in each of these people one at a time for us?"<br>"Very well then." The elderly male clears his throat and calls off the first name on the list, a young male in his early 20's.  
>"Would you follow my son? He will direct you to the interview location."<p>

L led the rusty haired male into the interview room and gestured towards the lounge across from his blood eyed friend. He seemed warm and friendly enough, if not a little hyperactive. The younger raven looked up, adopting an interested expression and gesturing to a seat.  
>"Mr. Grady, I assume?" The older male nods, perhaps taken a little bit back at the youth in front of him.<br>"I know what it is I am doing here, so don't be intimidated. Why have you applied here?" From here on out, he'd use the skills for detecting liars that he'd honed to an art form.

"Well I was a dog groomer..." the older male took a deep breath and brought his hand to rub his chin, which was slightly covered in stubble but not so much that it looked bad.  
>"But the pay was terrible so I figure that if I am going to work for peanuts I might as well do a job where I am actually doing good rather then just dolling up poodles..." he answered honestly, if not a little jokingly.<br>"I also heard a rumor that during the day this place was going to be run by a bunch of crazy-smart kids and I was curious... guess the rumors where true..."

"That is an interesting rumor..." L mumbled and looked down at his friend for a moment.  
>"Where did you hear that?"<br>"Some older guy, really up himself, doesn't seem to like kids or animals much..."  
>"Roger..."<br>"Yeah that's him! he was the one giving out flyers hear the other day!"

"I see. So you have experience in animal grooming and handling..." B flips through the folder. "You majored in science, which is great. Biology and Chem Major... Not bad." He looks up from the folder and tilts his head to the side. "The students who volunteer their time here are no different than you or I Mr. Grady. I would not pry into matters that do not immediately concern you..."

"No no don't get me wrong. It was just a passing curiosity that's all." He smiled nervously, putting his hands up in his defense.  
>"I haven't finished University, I want to do Veterinary Science in the end, but in my first year I did a report on how things would be run if business was conducted by minors... I ran around interviewing a bunch of kids your age and I learned a lot... Mainly that things, while less structured, seemed to always work themselves out... This is kind of... My paper come to life so to speak..."<p>

"So... What is your personal opinion on 'minor' run businesses?" He scratches an itch away on his scalp and keeps his attention on the numbers dancing on the older male's head.  
>"What can I expect from you if I hire you?"<br>"Well I discovered that young people tend to be more creative and resourceful than adults... I thought that my theoretical business had just as much chance for success as any other new business anyway..."

He took a deep breath and rubbed his chin again as he thought.  
>"I guess if you hire me I'm happy to work late... I have Uni in the day so I'm actually better off in the night... I am high energy so I guess I can take all the healthier dogs for a fair run every evening... I like to do that anyway... Oh and you won't have to hire another groomer! I can even teach some of your volunteers if they're willing to learn... "<p>

"Have you any questions for me or my friend here?" He seemed plausible enough and he was honest for the most part which was reassuring. He even has a few extra skills that may come in handy.  
>"Nope..."<br>"Then I think you may leave now, we'll get back to you later..." L mumbled and the elder got up, offering them a friendly smile before leaving.  
>"What did you think?"<p>

"He's got potential, but he's still a student and would overwork himself. I could give him something part-time. Perhaps the weekends if he's willing. I know what it's like to carry the burdens of school work with other matters. As much as a groomer would be welcomed, I feel that for the most part they are unnecessary unless dealing with matters like ticks, fleas and the like. His energy could be an asset here, but it sounds like this skills would allow him a few positions." He nibbled on an index finger in thought.  
>"He's honest though... I may consider him..." He sets the folder off to the right and facing down.<p>

"We will eventually need a groomer though. If we are to take cases of neglect where there fur needs to be completely clipped... we only really need people of a night... Wammy's students can take care off things during the day... We can keep him in our back pocket in case we cannot fill every night role, there needs to be someone here to watch the sick animals at night after all... seven nights to fill..."  
>"If we can find one other person who can do nights, then I will have no problems hiring him. I'd feel comfortable having alternating workers during night shift than someone who is consistent and could wear down faster. Even if he does have high energy, I'd feel better giving him the alternate day off."<p>

He looked over the next applicant's information.  
>"As for grooming, if he can settle for fur removal in emergency situations or otherwise, then I see no problem in taking him in."<br>"Alright, who's next?" The future detective mumbled, opening up the top file to see the face of a pretty, spunky looking young woman.  
>"Have a seat." The younger raven keeps his gaze on her numbers, their presence being distracting. "So, Why are you applying to work here Miss Carlysle?"<p>

"I'm a vet nurse and I err... well that's basically it..." She mumbled, seemingly very intimidated.  
>"Don't need to be nervous Miss Carlysle. You have experience with Veterinary sciences then? How much experience if you don't mind my asking?"<br>" I umm... well I worked at the little vets downtown for the last umm... year and a half I guess and its closing... so I have to find a new job and..."  
>"We don't bite..." L mumbled.<br>"Y-yes see I'm not good with people... I like cats..."

"My friend and I were like that before, but things changed. So Miss Carlysle, what can I expect from you if I hired you?" Despite his outwardly calm demeanor, B was still nervous and let his right hand drift to his friend's jeans and grip the material under the table.  
>"Well... I'd suck at the front desk 'cuz I get real nervous around people, b-but I love animals and I'm good at needles..." Her nerves where made far worse by Beyond's blood red eyes that locked onto her like a bear trap.<p>

"Do I intimidate you Miss Carlysle?" B murmured, keeping his gaze stoic and unreadable.  
>"Is it my eyes? Do they frighten you?"<br>"No it's just... I don't... I don't like being looked at..." she whispered, diverting her gaze.  
>"You are staring..." L pointed out quietly.<p>

"I believe that good communication is achieved by maintaining eye contact. If you cannot look at me, my friend or anyone else here that you could work with, then that tells me you have some unresolved issue and I would highly recommend that you seek help for that. I would like a calm, flowing environment. I don't mean to be blunt here, but I don't think I can trust you to work for me if you can't even do me the courtesy of looking at me and maintaining even speech."  
>"A-alright..." she mumbled and quickly darted out, leaving a now very frustrated L and B behind.<br>"I hope the rest of them aren't like that..."

"It's a hard pill to swallow, but I do not want anyone like her on staff. People who display confidence and look like they know what they are doing and are capable of doing it well are welcomed here. We do still have positions that these applicants are not wanting to fill. We need night security and day security, a janitor, an accountant, and a representative."

"I am sure there are Wammy's students who can take care of accounting..." the elder mumbled and took a deep breath, "the rest need to be sauced from outside..."  
>"Yes. If we can hire a representative, then our promotional work is taken care of." He paused when the next applicant walked in, a more mature woman in her 30's walked in and sat herself down.<br>"Welcome. You're Mrs. DeWitt, I assume?"  
>"Yes."<br>She smiled and sat down across the room on the lounge. L looked her up and down slowly, noting her outward appearance seemed far to neat to be someone working closely with animals.  
>"I've taken a good look at your resume Mrs. DeWitt. I would like for you to share with me your previous experiences with me. How long have you been working with your last employer and what did you do?"<p>

"I worked at the front desk of a law firm." L sighed as though his hunch was confirmed. It was clear she didn't work with animals.  
>"How long have you worked and how can we use your experiences to help us?"<br>"Well I have never worked in an animal care facility before, but I am highly intelligent and a quick learner."

"That is not what I asked though. How long have you worked and how can we use your experiences to help us? In other words, why have you applied to work here?"  
>"I wanted a change in career." To L, this women had already become annoying and he lost interest, playing with his friends jeans under the table. B on the other hand could tell this woman was hiding something, having read her body signals and noting how she reacted to his repetitive, unanswered question.<br>"I'm sure that this career change is not for you Mrs. DeWitt. I appreciate you coming here though. Take care and the best of luck."

As she huffed and walked out the older male let out a sigh. He was sure the rest of the interviews would go quite poorly and, as luck would have it, he was right. Of all the people interviewed, very few where suitable for any of their jobs. Afterwards, B slumped further into his chair and let go of his friend's jeans at last.  
>"6 out of 14 candidates... That was very stressful... We need to get the other positions filled however and Roger is our only representative. However, he's not the one I want representing us." He sighed and closed his eyes and brought a hand to his head, fighting off a growing headache.<p>

"I had a feeling it would be harder then it appeared..." the elder mumbled, "but we can fill the rest of the positions with Wammy students."  
>"True... But I would not mind letting other members of the community inside. It's supposed to be a public center, is it not?" He whined when a sharp pain pulsed in his head.<br>"I have a headache now... Great..."

"You're not the only one..." the detective mumbled and rubbed his temples.  
>"I guess it's best we go back outside and let our successful candidates know that they will be hearing from us again soon." He whined again before standing up and taking the 6 folders and walking slowly outside.<br>"I'll just wait here..." the elder mumbled, closing his eyes and willing away the stress.

The younger raven sought out each successful applicant and informed all of them of their success into the clinic before directing them to Watari for their temporary contact number. When this was done, he walked back inside to rejoin his friend, leaning against the wall and sitting on the ground. He winced at the head pain and continued to will it away.  
>"So far so good Lawli..." He closed his eyes and slid until he was laying on the floor.<br>"Come next week this place should be busy..." the dark eyed raven mumbled, "and we can save many animals..."

B simply nods and lets himself become relaxed until he'd fallen into a short nap on the floor, murmuring unintelligible things while he did so. L waited patiently for his friend to wake, his head swimming with the useless information gathered in the interview. People exhausted him, he would happily live meeting very few. 20 minutes later and B's eyes opened and he looked around, slightly dazed before sitting up and getting to his feet.  
>"Can we go into the city now Lawli?" His fingers itched to grab his friend's arm, but he refrained from doing so.<p>

It took a moment for L to open his eyes and when he did he simply nodded slowly.  
>"Where is it you want to go exactly?"<br>"I still want to get you a cake from there. I've wanted to get you something for your present. It does not compare to this place, but I don't think it's fair to get something without giving something in return."  
>"Seeing how much you love this place is more than enough." The elder smiled and got to his feet,<br>"However. I will not turn down cake..."

The younger raven followed the older, remembering that the opening ceremony was now winding down into its conclusion. He broke ahead and approached their father.  
>"Watari, since things are winding down here, is it possible for us to go into the city? I'd like to get Lawli a cake for our birthday."<br>"You do not wish to stay behind until it is done first?" B shook his head slowly.  
>"Those interviews make me want to avoid other people for a short while."<br>"If that is how you feel, I will just take care of one last thing and then we can certainly go there. You can wait for me by the car you two."

That was all the young detective needed, he took his friends hand and guided him outside to the car. He needed to be away from the noise of the people. Red eyes looked to the crowd, losing himself in floating names and numbers until Watari returned from his task.  
>"Alright you two, we can leave. Is there any place specific that you had in mind?"<br>"Not really. I'd like Lawli to choose his cake. I'm paying for it."

"There is a kind of cake I have been curious about for some time..." the elder mumbled and looked up at Watari.  
>"There's a place I have heard makes cakes out of gelato..."<br>"I believe I know what you are talking about. It's within the city center and is quite popular." The elder male unlocks the doors to let the ravens inside before climbing in himself and starting the engine. He needs not remind the boys to buckle in as it is automatic for them both to do so.  
>"Gelato cake Lawli?" B inquired.<p>

"It's like... Italian ice cream... I have only ever had it once before and there is nothing that compares to its taste!" The elder almost purred, his mouth watering at the thought.  
>"There is a place I saw advertised in the news paper where they press the gelato into a cake mold, and it is like an ice cream cake though a thousand times better..."<p>

B felt himself drool a little at the thought. It was tempting enough that he might even buy another one to share with his friend.  
>"It sounds delicious. I never had it before." The younger raven smiled and leaned into his friend.<br>"Happy late birthday Lawli," he murmured. L put his arm around his friend and pulled him in closer.  
>"Happy late birthday Beyond."<p>

Watari glanced at the rear view mirrored and smiled. His boys were always close and did seem to genuinely care for the other. To him, it made it that more special that he was their parent and that his ability to raise them has not gone without trouble. It took a while to find the store that they were looking for, but none of the car's occupants minded much. L and B didn't get away from Wammy's enough and just being out to look around, even out the window of a car, was more then entertaining enough.

With their destination in sight at last, Watari pulled up and walked out and let the ravens out to go into the shop. B stepped out and looked everywhere, the sea of numbers and names was massive and had him effectively distracted, making him look a little distant at first. The older took his hand and led him over to where all the different kinds of gelato where in their containers waiting to be scooped up and put into containers, however, L was there for something special, even if the mere site of the cold treat was almost irresistible.

B snapped from his numbers induced hypnosis and found he was now inside the Gelato shop. He walked up to the counter and to the young male taking the orders.  
>"What would you like today?" asked the young man cheerily.<br>"I would like to buy one Gelato cake and one Gelato in a cup please."  
>"Certainly. What flavor would you like?"<br>"I'll take... strawberry for the cup as well as for the cake." He looked to his friend.  
>"Unless you want to use a different flavor?"<p>

L was now pressed against the glass, not paying any attention to anything other then the sweet gelato almost within reach, yet blocked by the cold force field of glass. He stuck his tongue out and pressed it to the color, giving a soft whine when it didn't taste the way he wanted.  
>"Hey, Eru-san..." B nudged the older with his foot.<br>"Eru-san, do you want strawberry or not?" He had to admit it though, it was funny and he implored his friend's decision with an amused grin.

"Strawberry, and wild-berry, and raspberry, and mulberry," he mumbled, sliding his tongue along the glass once more as if to test whether or not it changed flavors. The younger raven looked to the cashier.  
>"Did you get that?" The young male nodded and ran up their order.<br>"That will be 40 Pounds." B dug into his large jeans and removed a wallet and two 20 Pound papers and handed it to the young man with a small smile. He looked back to his friend and grinned.  
>"It's still going to taste like glass no matter how much you try Eru-san."<p>

The dark eyed raven gave a soft whimper and moved away from the frosty shield to wait. B petted his friend's hair comfortingly while they waited. At the same time, he could not help but be a little on edge for the older male seeing his eyes and what sort of outlandish rumors that may one day start spreading, if at all. He was lost in his thoughts for some time before he snapped from his daze to see the young male come out with a container with cake. He took time to tend to his order before handing it to him with a smile.  
>"Thank you sir," he murmured, taking the containers and walking outside again.<br>"Come Eru-san."

L followed his friend like a little lost puppy, almost begging for the sweet cake that he knew his friend now had. The younger raven handed the cake to their father who set it in the front seat before letting him and his friend inside. B knew the older raven was practically drooling by now and had known that ordering this little side treat was a smart move. As soon as he was buckled in, he nudged the older and offered him the spoon for the treat and contented himself with sucking the sweet treat from his fingers instead.

The dark eyed raven dug his spoon into his friend's cup of the chilled desert and slowly licked it off, swirling his tongue around and around with an expression that was akin to that of a kitten when scratched behind the ears.  
>"Watari..." B mumbled around his fingers, "Can we go home now? I'm tired and I want to rest up before I start dealing with more applicants." The elder male nods and directs his path back to the orphanage. B looked at his friend with a smile and petted his chin.<br>"Lawli is a happy detective, aren't you?"

L nodded, a smile visible around the spoon he was happily licking. He was almost purring he was so happy with the taste.  
>"This is better than you said it was." He dipped his fingers and sucked more of the treat from them until they were clean again. They were distracted with eating the sweet treat that they had not noticed that they were back on the orphanage's grounds again. The older nodded again, he wanted to dig in to the cake, but for now was content in sharing Beyond's little cup.<p>

"We've returned you two," said the elder male, "would you like me to chill this for you a little while longer before bringing it to you?" B looked at the mostly empty cup and let the older have the rest.  
>"It's up to you Lawli." L tilts his head to the side in thought for a few long moments, his tongue freezing in place on the cold creamy strawberry treat.<br>"Perhaps you can bring it to us a little later?" he mumbled after remembering that it was fish night, B and his least favorite night of the week.

"Alright. I'll chill it for you until later. When would you like me to bring it into your room my son?" B reached out and wiped off some Gelato from L's lip and licked it off.

"After tea please..." the elder raven mumbled, dreading the taste of the tuna pasta, or worse yet fish fingers that would surely be force fed to them.  
>"Very well then. I will be rejoining you to deliver your cake at that time." With that, Watari takes the Gelato cake and walks back towards the direction of the house.<br>"I could use a nap... I am still exhausted from earlier..." With that, B followed suit, walking slowly back inside, letting out a soft yawn as he did so.


	32. Chapter 28

Disclaimer and such in Chapter 1

Chapter 28

L padded along close behind his friend, not necessarily tired, but certainly exhausted. Once they where safely back in their room he greeted their happily napping dog and sat himself down on his own bed with a yawn. B stripped his shirt and shoes before climbing onto bed and falling into a short nap. The day was still young, but the interviews and the previous activities had worn him down and his body needed a short while to recharge. It did not come without a short nightmare that was soon replaced with a good memory. The older male lay down in his own bed, looking up at the ceiling and running through the days events over and over.

Red eyes opened some time later before B yawned and rolled to his side, eying the young detective with familial adoration. He looked down to Bear and clicked his tongue, letting the large dog pad its way to him so he could pet and rub the ears lovingly.  
>"So much happened in a span of only 5 hours... It's hard to imagine that the day has not ended yet. It feels almost surreal, but it's going to remain busy for everyone here from here on out."<p>

"Things should settle down once there is a routine set..." the elder mumbled, not looking away from the spot on the ceiling.  
>"What's going on in that mind of yours right now," the younger inquired.<br>"Our lives..." L breathed, "they are going to become ever more complicated from here on out..."  
>"Yes, that's true. In the span of a few months, we've already come so far. I can only see us going farther." He sat up and continued to pet the large dog.<p>

"But it also will make our lives much more difficult..." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again slowly, "for better or for worse..."  
>"We both knew the risks we were taking when we pursued our endeavors Lawli. We knew we were going to make sacrifices. It is a truth that I honestly am having a very hard time accepting... I don't want to be apart from you, but I know that whether or not that I like it, we may have to separate for a long period of time..." he stops petting Bear and backs up onto his bed more to hug his knees.<p>

"I won't let it happen..." the elder promised.  
>"Even if we must be apart, if I have a case where more then one person would be a liability or you would be unsafe, I will fight to make it as short a time as possible." The younger raven continued to hug his knees, but he nodded, assured that even if time and space were to separate them, Lawli would come back.<br>"I believe that you will... Still, I can't help but feel worry for you..."

"My special position makes me safer then most..." the elder assures him.  
>"I can hide and work from the shadows where most put themselves in danger."<br>"Plus, you'll have Watari to protect you when I'm not there to. In fact, I would like Watari to accompany you when I cannot. It will give me piece of mind knowing you're in good hands."  
>"I think he intends to do that anyway..." the dark eyed raven sighed softly, "but there may be times I am alone..."<p>

"Those things cannot be helped by either of us. I'll be alone for long periods of time. Sure, there's A, but she's a sister and she has different goals and interests than I do. Not that you don't either, but I'm closer to you than I am to her."  
>"We should focus on something else... there are both good and bad points to both our chosen paths. There is danger and loneness in mine, but there is the potential to become poisoned and ill from exposure to chemicals in both yours and A's..."<p>

"We both know what it is we are doing, and we know the high risks involved in our chosen field of work. If anything happens to me, word will get out to you, I expect the same from your end. Mind you, working around chemicals all day puts me and A at a higher risk for injury or death..."  
>"Exactly..." He sighs and once again closes his eyes.<br>"For me, the risk only comes if I do not do my job correctly, for you the effects of many chemicals are not fully understood..."

The younger raven un-hugged his legs and slinked over to his friend's bed, perching himself next to the young detective.  
>"For now, let us not try to worry. It is our belated birthday and I would like for us to enjoy it with Gelato." L smiled and pulled his friend down next to him; he was happy to be there for his friend no matter how scary the future seemed. B settled himself next to the detective and leaned into him. Not long afterwards, Watari walked in with cake and fruit cups.<br>"I thought you might want to enjoy your cake with some fruit. The rest of the students are at supper right now and I knew you would not wish to attend today's meal"

"It's a wonder anyone does... you really must get a cook that can actually cook..." the elder mumbled, pulling himself up until he is sitting with legs hanging over the side of the bed.  
>"Right now there are none available or looking for work at this time. Rest assured, when we can afford a more efficient cooking staff, it will be made available." B adjusted himself and got into a seated position.<br>"Anything is better than what they're cooking right now..." he murmured, eying the fruit cups and feeling starved.

"You could teach them Watari..." the dark eyed raven suggested.  
>"You're a very good cook..."<br>"Yes, but only to a small number of people, I'm afraid. I'm rather busy as it is and I cannot make time to teach the students."  
>"I'm sure there can be a couple hours in your day that you can teach the students. There are willing kids here after all." He reaches to take a cup, balancing himself precariously before his prize was attained.<p>

L put his long dessert spoon into the cake, taking all four layers at once in one big, smooth, curl and popping it into his mouth happily.  
>"Until I can teach or until we get a new cooking staff, we are stuck with the one we have. I will take my leave then." With that, the elder male exits the room. B digs out a melon slice and scoops out some of the cake and pops the fruit into his mouth, humming in contentment.<p>

The older male seemed to go into a pleasured trance, loving the sweet, smooth taste. He was happy to share this with his friend though no one else would be allowed this close to such a prized cake. B takes another fruit and scoops out more cake before noting the strange expression, but thought nothing of it as he'd made the same face whenever a special treat was enjoyed.

L was enjoying his cake so much it was unbelievable.  
>"This cake is the best cake I have ever eaten." the elder mumbled around the spoon still in his mouth.<br>"It is quite delicious," replied B with a smile, nibbling away at a cake covered melon slice.  
>"We must get more of this Gelato on another day."<br>"Unfortunately we will most likely run into Roger's usual, 'not allowing Watari to play favorites' idea..."

"Perhaps, but not if we order out for some," the younger mused, sucking Gelato from the melon slice before popping it into his mouth to chew on.  
>"That... Or we can sneak out and get some by another means..."<br>"There is always that." The elder mumbled again, a slightly devious smile spreading across his face.

The younger raven saw the smile spread and a somewhat sly grin crossed his features.  
>"What do you have planning in that mind of yours?" He dipped a finger into the Gelato to suck off his fingers. L took another spoonful before slowly turning towards his friend, almost evil expression fixed in place.<br>"Have you ever experimented on the effects of ice cream?" he mumbled slyly.  
>"I think it improves my ability to make deductions by an entire 5% at least..." and they could have delivered any learning aid they wanted...<p>

The wild raven shifted ever so slightly from the gaze of the older, sucking the sweet treat from his finger slowly whilst shaking his head side to side.  
>"I don't believe I have," he said after popping the finger from his mouth.<br>"I don't doubt that in the least though."  
>"Then I think it's about time someone tested that!" L almost chirped.<br>"Alright, I will agree to help you test this. How will we go about doing so?" B tilted his head curiously and sucked on the tip of his finger unconsciously.

"Does it matter?" the elder asked, licking the tip of the spoon.  
>"We can order any learning aid we wish, so we must consider this a learning aid!" B's grin grew wider, almost matching the detective's.<br>"As long as it helps increase your deductibility skills, they cannot turn down your requests for sweets. Brilliant idea!" He digs his finger back into the Gelato and sucks it off with a smile.  
>"The testing does not have to be accurate, it can be rigged in my favor if necessary."<br>"If you can simply include sugary treats as a learning aid, then they could not refuse you, correct? I suppose if I had one... if would be jam... just the thought..." He drools a little and wipes it away.  
>"I don't think they could refuse you if it works."<br>"Which is why I need some way of proving it, should its effectiveness come into question."

"Why not test it out by consuming only sugary stuff on your next case. If you can solve it 5% faster or more, then that should be enough proof as such."  
>"It sounds like a fair test to me..." There was no way they could dispute its effects if he solved cases faster with a sugary aid.<br>"Then it's settled, dearest Lawli." He grinned before returning his attention to the Gelato until he deemed himself full.

Together the two boys managed to finish almost half of the special cake before neither could eat any more and as if on cue Watari returned to retrieve what remained. B waited until Watari was gone before he stripped himself of his clothes completely after getting up and going to his bed.  
>"I need to get out of these clothes and into the shower. I hate the grime that accumulated. Are you going to jump in after I'm done Lawli?"<br>"Alright..." he mumbled, taking a deep, calming breath.

The younger raven slipped inside, taking a towel with him and starting the water and setting it to the temperature he preferred. When this was done, he jumped in and began his cleaning regimen. L would lay back and watch the ceiling for some time, again becoming lost in the percentages he knew so well. What where the chances of his life being a happy one?

A short time would pass before B walked out with towel around his waist to grab a set of clothes and sit down on his bed.  
>"Hey Lawli," he murmured, "the bathroom is available to you right now." L nodded and padded into the bathroom once more without another word. There were just to many variables...<p>

The younger raven sensed something troubling his friend. Not that was unusual, but he'd been a lot more silent than usual and it had not gone unnoticed. Was he perhaps the cause for his doubt? If so, for what reason would Lawli doubt him when clearly he cared? These were his nerves talking for him and pushed those thoughts aside. It did not stop him from standing up and going inside while the older raven was still in the middle of his shower.  
>"What are you thinking about Lawli?" He asked from the other side of the curtain.<br>"You're more quiet than usual."

"I am thinking about how little I really know..." the elder mumbled softly.  
>"There are so many variables... I just don't know... so many things could go right and so many could go wrong... I could never understand everything..."<br>"Perhaps we were never meant to understand everything. We're brilliant minds with wisdom and maturity far beyond our years and not many know of our existence. I'm an enigma even to myself. There are many variables, but what can we do about it? Nothing, really."  
>"It... confuses me... the more I think on it the more it consumes me... There is too much to learn and not enough life times to learn it all... even for me..."<p>

"Don't let it bother you Lawli. There are things that we must ultimately learn to accept and accepting that you cannot learn everything you want to know is a first step."  
>"Perhaps..." the dark eyed raven mumbled, turning off the water and allowing himself to drip dry for a moment before leaving the little shower.<br>"Besides, it is our belated birthday. I'm not going to stand idly by while my best friend kills the good mood by contemplating life."

B takes L's towel and begins to dry him off for a short while so he cold pull him into a hug, letting a hand trail lazily to massage his skin. The older nuzzles into his friends chest and gives a very hurt sounding whimper, his mind had turned on itself as it did countless other times though this time it seemed to hurt all the more. Could they really be together? Would their chosen paths fight to try and drive them apart? Would fate take his friend from him or cause him to fall ill once more?

B hears the sad sounding whimper and holds his friend's head on his chest while massaging his back.  
>"I'm sorry Lawli," he murmured, "I didn't mean it like that... honest I didn't..." He goes into a seated position and pulls the older to straddle him, shifting his massages into comforting petting. The dark eyed raven whimpered softly again and curled up against his friend more. All he ever wanted was to be with him. The younger raven holds him close, petting him and soothing the upset older raven.<br>"I love you Lawli... I love you and I didn't mean what I said. I'm sorry..."

"No... No it's not... not that..." he whispered back, sounding deeply saddened.  
>"It's... It's nothing... really..."<br>"Please tell me then? Why are you so upset?" B lifted the older's face so he could look into those dark eyes. A tear managed to escape as his eyes met the red of his friends, rolling down his cheek slowly. "I don't want... you to ever be taken from me..."

"I don't either... I don't want to lose you..." He pulls the older close and frowns.  
>"My biggest fear Lawli... is losing you..." The older buries his head in his friend's shoulder once more, no longer able to maintain eye contact. B wraps the towel around them both and pets his friend, consoling him as best as he could, burying his face in his friend's neck, but no more than that.<p>

"I'm sorry..." L whispers, trying to relax and calm down.  
>"Don't be sorry Lawli... It's ok to be afraid... It's ok to cry when you're sad..." He rubs his friend's back slowly, starting to place feather light comforting kisses to a shoulder.<p>

"But I shouldn't be... as you said I should be happy today..." B shifts a little to get into a comfy position.  
>"I know what I said, and I still would like you to be happy, but I can tell you're afraid. I'm scared too, but I want us to try be happier for a little while..." He pulls the older closer still and holds him there. L nods and takes a deep breath, enjoying the warmth of just being with his friend.<p>

An undetermined amount of time had passed before B decided that it would be getting close to night checks and urged his friend to his feet so he could get up.  
>"We should be getting ready before Roger sees us like this... I'll sleep with you tonight, if that's ok with you..." The detective nodded and gave a small smile, nuzzling in close for one last cuddle before quickly getting out of the bathroom and getting ready.<p>

B followed him out, unwrapping the towel from his waist and digging out boxers and his night pants from his dresser and putting on his clothes. When this was done, he crawled under his blankets and looked to his friend and gave a smile before waiting for night checks to begin. Once L was dressed and ready he sat himself down on the bed and waited. He was wondering which teacher would come to check and what there standards would be, knowing that they would pass even if it was Roger who checked.

A little time had passed before Roger had knocked and let himself in, overlooking the room and giving a frown of disapproval at seeing Bear in the room. The space was relatively untouched and Roger gave a nod before closing the door. B let some time pass afterwards and turned off his light, slinking out of his bed to crawl in with the young detective.

"He does not like Bear..." The dark eyed raven mumbled, curling up with his friend.  
>"He does not like much of anything here Lawli... If Watari and Roger were not good friends, I doubt he'd be working here..." He smiled and returned the cuddle, nuzzling the neck of the older.<br>"Lawli..." he murmured, "I hope we don't lose each other. I love you too much..."  
>"I... I couldn't bear it..." the elder whispered, resting his head against the others chest.<p>

The younger raven rolled on his back pulled the older on top of him and held him there.  
>"Neither could I..." He begins to rub slow circles on the older's back. The dark eyed boy relaxed more and more, closing his eyes and resting. The hypnotic breathing of his friend and the motions of his hand began to lull him into sleep, closing his eyes and drifting off while still rubbing the older's back. L would be asleep before long, happily purring.<br>B's dream state that night would forever alter his waking personality; darkening it, making him bolder, rougher, altering him a little at a time.


	33. Post Story Blog

Post Story Blog/Rant/Other:

1. I want to say 'thank you' to everyone who has finished reading this story. I am so happy that there are people who are enjoying this tale as it unfolds. This is the first in a series, and as you can see, this story is finished, but has gone under a make-over in the form of actual chapters instead of parts.

2. I am still editing this ongoing tale and further posting will be post poned until further progress on editing is made. For those who know how editing is very time consuming, you can sympathize.

3. This is the introductory "book" of sorts. I am surprised at how many have commented on how well these characters are written. My writing partner, RipJawWolfFang and I do share similar traits to our characters and writing them out has been very natural as well. It's a joy to create characters that not only give us joy to create, but to know that we've incorporated a part of ourselves into them.

4. I will warn you now: This story and the following "books" will get progressively darker as it goes on. How this happens is our secret, dearest readers.

5. To the lovely users and anons who have reviewed: You are all loved and we appreciate each and every one of the reviews we get. I make sure that my 'Lawli' gets them as well. We look forward to getting more as this goes on.

All in all, thanks. I can't thank you enough and I hope that this story, as well as the others continue to get read and reviews if you, dear readers, are so inclined. Much love and happy reading!

3 ~TJFC~ 3


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